"Aden sure as hell cleans up well," Lizzie joked as she and Hope sat at the wedding party table watching him and Lizzie's new boyfriend, Chase, walk towards the bar.
"Doesn't he?!" Hope giggled. "Chase seems like a great guy."
"I know. I'm really falling for him," Lizzie smiled. "I can't believe a guy like this came into my life, ya know? I mean, think about it. You and I might be the next to get married!"
"No, no! That'll be my brother and Amy," Hope laughed. "I can't believe Shannon's married though! He's such a child!"
"Yeah, but so are the rest of us. But we'll be following his lead someday."
"Yeah, you may be right. How weird is that to think about though? Shannon's married. Matt and Amy have been serious for a few years now. Aden and I are serious. And now you're with Chase. It seems like the only people not in a serious relationship right now are Jeff and Helms."
"Speaking of Shane," Lizzie grinned.
"The night was going so well before HE came up," Hope sighed as she rolled her eyes.
"It's been a month Hope. Don't you think you can forgive him? It is kind of a stupid and childish thing to be fighting about."
"I'm just tired of everyone treating me like I'm some fragile little girl. I can whoop most guy's asses in that fuckin ring! I'm not everyone's little sister."
"Yeah, but to have that many people care enough about you is awesome, don't you think?"
"Yeah, when I was 12! I'm 25!" Hope exclaimed.
"Uh-oh, someone mentioned Shane, didn't they?" Shannon questioned as he walked up to the table.
"Yeah, that would have been me. Just tryin to talk some sense into her, ya know?" Lizzie shrugged as she stood to join her man at one of the guest tables.
"Sorry Shan. I didn't mean to explode like that," Hope apologized.
"That's alright. I'm used to your outrageous outbursts," Shannon smiled.
"Congratulations Shan. I'm so proud of you," Hope smiled hugging her friend tightly.
"Thanks. I'm so happy right now. I just wish the guys could have been here."
"Yeah, me too. They were really bummed to have missed out on this."
"Yeah, I know. I'm glad at least you were able to be here. Thank you so much for making Crystal's dress. She looked simply amazing."
"It was my pleasure. I've been meaning to ask, were you crying when you saw her?"
"Shut up Hardy!" Shannon laughed.
"Uh-oh, what'd she say now?" Aden smiled as he walked up to them, Chase not far behind.
"I just asked if he was crying during the ceremony. That's all," Hope grinned and Aden walked around the table to be behind her. He leaned down and kissed her cheek.
"And?" Chase questioned.
"And what?!" Shannon exclaimed.
"What's the answer? Were you or were you not crying?" Aden spoke up.
"You all suck. I hate all four of you!"
"Four of us?! What the hell did I do?!" Lizzie exclaimed outraged by the blonde's statement.
"Please, Lizzie. I know if Hope hadn't asked you would have!" Shannon replied crossing his arms.
Lizzie paused for a moment, almost as if in thought. "Yeah, you're right. I would have," she smiled.
"Why did I invite you people anyways?" Shannon questioned himself as he walked off.
"So, would you like to dance?" Aden asked his girlfriend. She just nodded with a smile.
He swept her off to the dance floor. She felt as if she was floating, nothing else in the world mattered to her while he held onto her. And as he swung her around and around, she began to realize just how much he meant to her. That's when she made a decision to speak. Tell him exactly everything she felt.
"Aden," Hope spoke softly.
He smiled at her, his blue eyes sparkling in the light. "Yeah, baby?"
She smiled a bit while biting on her lower lip. She felt shy. Something she really hadn't felt since she was 15. "I, um, well……." She could grasp onto the words she wanted to speak aloud to him. She was ready for him to hear them, but was she really ready for anyone else to possibly hear them as well?
"Sweetie, are you alright?" he questioned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just," she sighed as she looked down at her shuffling feet.
He stopped her and placed his hand under chin, bringing her eyes back up to his. "What is it Hope?"
"I love you," she breathed.
The words hit his ears as he began to sway to the music, moving her along with him. He smiled down at her. Almost as if he was thinking about the situation. And then, he said it, "I love you too."
"Aden, you don't have to say it just because I said it. I mean we've been together for about 2 months now. That's just how I feel right now. If you don't feel the same right now, that's fine. I understand completely. I don't want you to feel obligated to say that if you don't feel the same way yet."
"Hope, listen to the words coming out of my mouth," he grinned. She looked at his lips as he spoke. "I love you."
"Do you mean it?" she questioned with a smile on her face.
"Of course I mean it. I wouldn't say it if I didn't. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love you baby. I really love you." He kissed her gently and held onto her tightly. Hope once again felt as if she had been floating.
Hope stood on a chair, struggling to put up some new artwork in her spare bedroom that Jeff had given her. She had the music up so loudly she was oblivious to the rest of the world.
Matt entered his little sister's large home and called to her. Noticing that the music was up incredibly loud he started to climb stairs, knowing she would never be able to hear him over the music. As he reached the top of the stairs, he called to her again.
"FUCK!" Hope let out a scream as there was a bang heard from the spare room. Matt rushed in there to find his sister struggling to her feet, rubbing her ass gingerly, a chair lying on its side next to where she stood.
"Hope, are you okay?" he spoke as he rushed to her side.
"Owe," she cried with a pout. "Yeah, I'm okay. The chair tipped out from under me."
"Ouch," he chuckled as he moved her to the bed. "What were you doing?"
"Trying to hang that painting up. Didn't go so well. Sucks to be short!" she replied with a laugh. She stood and began walking towards her bedroom, where the music began to get louder, Matt noticed as he followed her. She turned her stereo off and sat on the bed, looking curiously at her brother. "What's up Matt?"
"Can't I just come by to see my little sister?"
"You usually don't," she smiled as he sat next to her.
"Alright, so I didn't come here just to visit. I wanted an explanation from you actually," he replied.
"Explanation? For what?"
"I think you owe it to me, and Jeff also, to tell us why you quit wrestling like you did as well as why you started it up again so secretly with Shane's help. What the hell is going on in the head of yours?"
"I owe it to you? I don't owe you two anything. It's my life Mathew. Maybe I don't want you two to know! I'm 25. You guys can't just keep track of my life anymore."
"Bade! Be reasonable! Maybe we could help you!"
"I don't need help Matt. I helped myself. And if it hadn't been for Helm's fuckin big mouth, you guys wouldn't give a shit!"
"Hey, what's goin on? I heard yelling," Jeff spoke as he stepped into Hope's room.
"Jesus, what the hell are you doing here?!" Hope exclaimed as she stood angrily.
"I wanted to come visit. Maybe see if you wanted to get the gang together to play some scrabble. What the hell's your problem?" Jeff replied as he crossed his arms.
"She's pissed at me cause I want her to tell us what the hell happened to her wrestling career," Matt spoke for her.
"I already told you that I would tell you when I was ready to. Did it ever cross your mind that maybe I'm not ready to tell you?!" Hope yelled at her brother.
"What the fuck is the big deal?!"
"Matt, maybe you should back off. If she doesn't want to tell us, she doesn't have it! It's her life and decision."
"Thank you Jeff," Hope said to her twin.
"Shut it Jeff! We're her brothers. Her family. Isn't it our right to know about important things in our sister's life?! Isn't that what family is for!? If mom was here she'd want you tell us, wouldn't she?!" Matt exclaimed.
"How dare you bring mom into this?! That's one fuckin ball-less move!"
"Ball-less?! That's pretty low Hope. Now you're attacking my man hood because you know I'm right about mom!"
"Fuck you Matt!"
"Hope, come on. You know he's not gonna give up until you tell us," Jeff spoke as he moved to comfort her. She shrugged him off and turned to face him, glaring at him and Matt.
"Are there any parts of my life that I'm allowed to keep secret from you two?! Fuck! I can't even keep my sex life quiet! You two have to poke your noses into my life when you don't need to be a part of it!"
"Are you trying to say you don't want us to be a part of your life?!" Matt exclaimed.
"Oh don't you dare twist my words around!"
"So that's it, huh? Well, let me tell you one thing, honey. You wouldn't last a day without us! You couldn't survive without us Hope," Matt threw at her. Her mouth dropped open in shock as tears began to roll down her cheeks.
"Oh Matt. That's harsh. You know she didn't mean it like that. Give it a rest will ya?!" Jeff spoke loudly in his sister's defense.
"No, ya know what Jeff? Forget it! Don't try to stick up for me anymore. I'm done with this. Matt, you think I can't last without you?! Fuck you! Get out of my house if that's what you think!" Hope cried as she moved out of her own room, to the spare and slammed the door.
"Matt, why do you always have to go and push her buttons like that?" Jeff questioned.
"Because I know that's how I can get her to speak to us. Jeff, any minute now, she's gonna come out of that room, we're gonna hug her, and she's gonna break down and tell us EVERYTHING!" Matt smiled proudly to himself.
"She's not ready for that Matt. You shouldn't have pushed her like that. That's just cruel," Jeff shook his head as he sat next to his brother and waited.
An hour past and the brother's still sat there, staring at the door, waiting for Hope to reappear tell them what happened. Matt's plan hadn't worked. Jeff was fully prepared to tell him how much of a stupid asshole he really was.
"Jeff, fuckin open your mouth, and I swear I'll shut it permanently for you," Matt growled as he stood and moved toward the door. "I really thought she'd come to us. I didn't think she'd lock herself up like that."
"You didn't think Matt," Jeff said.
"Jeff, don't make me slap the shit out of you!"
"Matt, those tactics may have worked on her when she was a vulnerable 16 year old, but she's 25. She's an adult. A big girl now. She really doesn't need us in her life anymore. If anything, we need her more."
"Why is it, when it comes to Hope, you seem to be always right?"
"That's what happens when you're a twin!"
Matt shook his head at Jeff and walked across the hall to the spare bedroom door. He turned the knob only to find the door lock, but he could hear his sister on the other side, sobbing, quietly by herself. This above all things, made him feel like dirt. Like the lowest form of scum.
"Hope, sweetie!" he knocked on the door. It didn't budge and she made no sound of movement. "Come on Hope! Open the door! Let's talk like adults about this! I'm sorry, okay!?"
"Fuck you Matt!" He heard her yell at him.
"Bade, I'm sorry. I should have never said those things to you. You're not 16 anymore. I guess I just thought my old war tactics could work on an older more mature and smarter you," he paused when he heard her moved across the floor of the room. And put his ear to the door, hoping to hear something, anything that meant she was opening the door for him. Jeff leaned against the wall of the hall, watching his brother. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, as Hope nailed her fist on the door, causing Matt to jump back in fright. "FUCK HOPE!! You just scared the shit out of me!"
"Fuckin leave Matt!" she screamed at him through the wood door.
"Hope, you're being fuckin unreasonable and childish. What? Are you fucking 12 again?!"
Suddenly the door flew open and a red faced Hope stood there, angrily, staring at Matt. "That's more like it!" Matt smiled feeling quite proud of himself. Hope's eyes squinted to little slits. Jeff, noticing the look on his sister's face, moved out of the hallway and into the safety of her bedroom. Matt's smile faded as he too noticed the look she was giving him. And then, just as fast as the door opened, she let loose a growl of anger, and lunged at her brother, knocking him to the ground.
"You fuckin egotistical asshole!" she screamed at him as she straddled his waist and punched his chest.
"Hope! Fuck! Stop!" he exclaimed as he tried to grab onto her hands.
"You fuckin don't have any right to talk to me like this!" she screamed as tears of anger dripped off her face onto his chest, leaving little wet spots on his V-1 t-shirt.
"I know! Jesus! Hope! STOP!!!" he yelled over her screams. He finally grabbed onto her wrists and held them tightly. She breathed heavily as she looked down into his eyes. "Are you done?"
"No," she spoke harshly.
"Well, too bad. Cause I am!" he exclaimed as he sat up, forcing her off him. She stood and crossed her arms. Matt stood in front of her and took a deep breath. "Look, Hope, all that shit I just said. I didn't mean any of it. I was getting angry because you won't let us in. When you were little, you always came to me with your problems. I just don't understand when I became the last person on your list to find shit out about you."
Hope sighed deeply and stormed off into her room. Matt stood in his spot of a moment, rolled his eyes and waited for the slam of the door. When it didn't come, he turned and walked in after her.
"You're not the last person my list to find shit out about me. This just happens to be one of those things where I know the two of you would become over protective brothers. And that's something I don't need anymore. But neither of you get that!" Hope spoke calmly. "Sometimes I need you guys to be my best friends more than my brothers, but you can't seem to draw that line."
"We are your best friends!" Jeff spoke defensively.
"No, you're not. While best friends would be protective and concerned, they wouldn't go over board and watch every little step I make. You guys go WAY over board! You guys are always my brothers. This is one of those situations where I would need you to be my friends. Especially at this point where I'm over it," Hope explained. "If you can promise me that you'll be my friends and just listen, then I'll tell you. If you can't make that promise, then you're gonna have to wait. And maybe never hear about it."
"I promise," Jeff said as he sat on her bed. She followed him as they both looked up at their brother.
"Well, Matt, what do you say?" Hope questioned.
Matt stood there, unsure of what his answer should be. If this turned out to be a situation where he believed she needed a brother more than a friend, could he really step back and just be a friend, or would he do the normal brotherly thing? Could he really follow through with this type of promise?
"Yeah, alright, I promise," Matt replied sat next to his siblings.
Hope took a deep breath and began her story, her brothers, or rather, her friends, listening intently. By the time she was done, they were speechless. They had nothing to say, or at least nothing that friends would say.
"You guys have nothing to say about it?" she questioned.
"Well, what are we supposed to say? Other than that we're sorry that shit happened to you when we couldn't be there. And that we wished you could have said something to us sooner. And we'll be there every chance we get. This is your come back. Your time to shine and be yourself again. We wouldn't ever want to take that away from you. Whether you're our sister or our best friend. We love you and we only want you to be safe. And we would both like to thank Shane for helping you get back on your feet in the ring," Matt spoke as calmly and rationally as he could.
"Don't speak that asshole's name around me," Hope said.
"We also, would love to thank Aden for watching out for you while we can't. We're glad you have him in your life," Jeff spoke up.
"AND!!!" Matt began to add. "We think you need to forgive Helms. He helped you a lot and was only trying to do what he thought was best. Let your anger for him go. He cares a lot about you. More than you could have know."
"Shut up Matt," Jeff growled.
"Look, I know you guys think that HE was just protecting me, but I didn't need the protection. I just needed help. And while he did help me, he also LIED to me. I don't need that from anyone in my life," Hope replied.
"Fine, fine, we understand that," Matt smiled. "Can I go back to being your brother for a moment?"
"I suppose," Hope trailed off cautiously.
Matt wrapped his arms around his sister tightly. "I'm just so happy you're okay. And I love you. And if anything like that happens again, PLEASE don't wait so long to tell us. We just want you to be safe and happy." Hope laughed and gave into his hug.
"So how about that scrabble?!" Jeff exclaimed.
"So, what do we have planned for tonight?" Hope questioned as she snuggled up to her boyfriend as they laid in bed.
"Um, tonight?" Aden asked. Hope looked up at him and nodded with her smile fading. "Well, I was thinking that maybe we could go hang out with my boys."
"Is, um, is Helms gonna be there?" Hope asked as she pulled away and sat up.
"Yeah, um, we just haven't spent any guy time together, ya know?"
"Then, go! Have fun! You need that," Hope smiled as she climbed out of her bed. She moved towards the bathroom and Aden followed, his black boxer briefs hanging low on his hips. He leaned against the doorway and watched his girlfriend pull her black, aqua streaked, hair back.
"So you'll go?" he grinned.
She looked at him, still smiling. "No, I won't hang out with that asshole. But if you want to go, then go. I don't want to stop you."
"This kinda sucks Hope. I'd like to spend time with you and my friends. But because of this fight with you and Shane, I can't."
"Aden, I'm not stopping you from hanging out with him! I want you to be friends with him. But just because you're friends, doesn't mean I have to be friends with him."
"I know, baby. But we can't all just hang out together! I hate having to choose between you!"
"You don't have to! I'm not asking you to! Don't make me into that girlfriend that makes their boyfriends choose between their friends and their girlfriends. I'm not like that and you know that!"
"Why can't you let this go!? You forgave me! Why not him?"
"Aden, you don't know the crap that man has put me through in the past. He is the thorn in my side. The pain in my ass. I don't have to be friends with him. But you are! Have fun with him! I'll be here later and tomorrow! I love you. I don't want you to get pissed at me!"
"I'm not getting pissed at you! I'm getting pissed at the situation! I just want you to be able to spend some nice time with me and my friends. I'm always hanging out with your friends!"
"No one asked you to!"
"That's what a boyfriend does. They spend time with their girlfriend and her friends. Excuse me for thinking that this went both ways!" Aden exclaimed as he stormed off to find his clothes.
"Excuse me?! Did you just yell at me?! But that's not you getting pissed at me, huh?!" Hope yelled in return as she followed back into the bedroom. She crossed her arms and watched him pull on his jeans.
"Look, Hope, why don't you call me when you grow up and get over this childish bull shit!" Aden yelled as he grabbed his shirt and keys and stormed out of the house.
"ADEN!!!" Hope yelled after him. He didn't turn back, just go in his car and pulled out of the driveway. "UGH!!! BOYS!!!!" Hope ran down the stairs and out the door in her underwear, trying to chase after her boyfriend. Lucky for her, he wasn't far down the road.
"Hope," he chuckled as he looked in his rearview mirror. He shifted into reverse and backed up towards her. She stood at the end of her driveway, her arms crossed over her chest, realizing that she was almost naked. He stopped in front of her and rolled down the passenger window. "Baby, you look like a cheap hooker."
She smiled at his joke and opened the door, sliding in. "I love you. I don't want you to leave mad at me."
"I love you too. But this stubborn side of you, well, it drives me insane sometimes," he spoke softly as he looked over at Hope. He ran his hand up and down her bare leg and smiled. "I just wish you could get past this all."
"I'm sorry, Aden. I can't. But I don't want you to think you have to choose one way or the other. If you want to hand out with your friends tonight, please do. I want you to. It would do you some good to get away from me and my family for a night."
"I love being with you and your family. I have so much fun with them. But I think I do just need a guys' night out."
"Then have fun. I demand it!" Hope laughed. She leaned over and gave Aden a deep kiss before reaching for the door handle.
"Uh, baby, I think I'd feel more comfortable driving you up to the house, than you walking around in your bra and underwear," Aden laughed.
"Oh yeah, I kinda forgot," she grinned as she looked down at herself. "Maybe we could, I don't know, fuck before you go?"
"Ooo, I love IT when you talk nasty!" Aden grinned as Hope leaned over and nibbled on his neck.
A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to get another chapter out. I'm really not feeling this whole wrestling thing anymore. I'm trying to get through it all though. I will finish my stories, I will! I think anyways………