Thanks for the reviews everyone!

If you don't get the reference, "Life sucks, and then you die" is something Vince McMahon said once.

Just so you know, this isn't going to go exactly like things did prior to the other story. I can't remember every show prior to where I started in Deadly Game, so there you go.

I own no one, they all belong to WWE.

"Life sucks," said Shawn as he sat in catering with John and Randy.

"And then you die!" said John and Randy at the same time, identical grins on their lips. Shawn turned his head, looking at them.

"Huh?" he asked, and then laughed when he caught the reference, "Oh real cute."

They fell silent after that before John decided to find out why Shawn was so upset, "What's wrong Shawn?" he asked gently, curiously.

Shawn opened his mouth to speak when he saw Hunter walk past him, the tension from the night before returning as he lowered his gaze to the table.

"Something happened," said Randy, glancing at the retreating back of Hunter then back at Shawn, "What happened?"

Shawn shook his head, "Nothing," he lied, "We just had a disagreement."

John and Randy exchanged glances but decided not to press the issue, and instead left Shawn alone, figuring he wanted some time to think.

"Hunter," said a voice, shaking Hunter from his thoughts as he sat in the locker room, "Hunter, have you seen Shawn?"

Hunter scoffed lightly, turning his head from looking at Ted, "Like I care where he is," he said, unable to keep the hurt out of his voice.

Ted frowned faintly, "Oh come on Hunter," he said with a roll of his eyes, "You've always cared where Shawn is, ever since you guys met."

Hunter ignored him, keeping his gaze on the floor. Ted sighed heavily before leaving the locker room, the door slamming shut behind him.

A few hours later, Shawn found himself walking down the hall of the arena, his hands dug deep in his pockets. He wasn't really paying attention when he knocked into someone, knocking him backwards some.

"Sorry," he said before realizing it was Hunter, "Oh, h-hey Hunter."

Hunter shrugged faintly, "Hey Shawn," he said softly, "You ready for our match later tonight?"

Shawn nodded, "As ready as I'll ever be."

Hunter nodded then pushed past Shawn, disappearing down the hall. Shawn sighed faintly, running his hand back through his hair before turning and heading to the locker room. He changed into his ring gear quietly, ignoring the others then left, deciding to stretch somewhere else so he wouldn't have to deal with all the stares.

"Hunter come on!" shouted Shawn a while later as he jumped on the apron, trying to reach for the tag from Hunter while Hunter was being held back by Ted. He stretched as Hunter crawled towards him, and just barely managed to slap Hunter on the back. He climbed into the ring and ran at Ted, knocking him down before knocking Cody off the apron. Then, he turned and headed for the turnbuckle, propping himself on top of it then turned his attention to Ted.

Instead of being able to drop the elbow on Ted, Shawn felt himself being shoved off the turnbuckle, just like they planned. He fell from the turnbuckle, but instead of just hitting the floor, he felt his body smack the hard apron before folding up as he fell to the floor. He winced in pain, soft hisses coming from his mouth as grabbed at his neck.

"Shawn, Shawn are you okay?" asked Hunter from above him, the scared feeling he felt evident in his voice as he kneeled over Shawn. "Do you need help?"

Shawn reached out and grabbed Hunter's wrist, yanking on it as he winced in pain, "Help," he managed to get out through the soft hisses of pain.

Hunter nodded then turned his attention to the referee, waving him over. The referee slipped out of the ring and kneeled over Shawn, checking him briefly before throwing up the X for help from the back. Hunter's stomach turned as he looked down at Shawn, brushing the hair from his face.

"It'll be okay Shawn," he said as he stepped back, letting the trainers get full access to Shawn. He watched quietly as they placed Shawn on a stretcher to make getting him to the back easier, then walked along with them as they took him into the back. He was thankfully for once that they were only at a house show, so he didn't have to worry about this being on TV.

"Is Shawn okay?" asked Randy as he caught up to Hunter, Ted and Cody right behind him.

Hunter shrugged, hurrying to catch up with the trainers, "They haven't said what happened to him yet."

The four of them waited patiently as the trainers checked over Shawn. Hunter glared at the closed door, wishing he could know what was going on. He sighed heavily, thinking over maybe just barging in when the door opened and the head trainer walked out.

"Shawn will be just fine," said the head trainer, "His neck is going to be tender for a few days though, he's lucky. He does, though, have some bruising on his arm from hitting the apron."

Hunter nodded, watching the trainers leave before looking at the others.

"I'm sorry Hunter," said Randy softly, "I didn't mean to hurt Shawn."

Hunter smiled faintly, "It's not your fault Randal," he said, adding his real name in teasingly, "Now, go get yourselves cleaned up, I'm going to check on Shawn."

Randy nodded, gesturing to Ted and Cody before walking off. Hunter sighed faintly as he stepped towards the door, and then walked in, smiling faintly when he saw Shawn look over at him.

"Hunt," said Shawn faintly, "I hurt."

Hunter stepped closer, taking Shawn's hand in his as he sat down next to him, "Oh I know cowboy," he said softly, looking down, "Want me to take you back to the hotel now?"

Shawn nodded, and then slowly climbed off the table. Hunter followed him slowly back to the locker room, and then changed, only having to help Shawn with his shirt before gathering their bags and heading for the car.

"Shawn," said Hunter as they walked into their hotel room a little while later, "I'm sorry for what I said last night."

Shawn glanced over at him, "I understand why you said it," he said softly, "And if it wasn't for Rebecca, well I would consider it, I guess."

Hunter smiled faintly, "That's enough for me," he said then gestured to the bed, "Now, you should rest, and the trainer said you're going to be sore for a few days."

Shawn nodded, "Yes sir," he said with a smile before changing for a bed with a little help from Hunter, then climbed into bed, falling asleep shortly after.

Hunter smiled as he watched Shawn sleep for a few minutes before getting ready for bed himself, falling asleep shortly after climbing into his bed.