Fire and Ice/The Fine Line Between Love and Hate


Amy sat backstage in the women's locker room as she watched the first match of the night.  She smiled at Lance Storm on the mic.  Of course, she knew him from back in her ECW days.  His persona in the WWF was pretty much like he really was - serious and...vanilla - although the man was very nice and did in fact possess a sense of humor.

A smile spread across her pretty face as Edge's music suddenly interrupted the Alberta native's speech.  Amy's eyes sparkled as she watched Adam emerge from the back.  Damn, he looked good.  Sometimes, she couldn't believe she was really with this gorgeous man.  She bit her lip at his appearance.  His long golden mane was flowing, his chest bare, as he hadn't worn a T-shirt or one of his trademark trenchcoats, and he was wearing black tights adorned with dark pink and blue designs.

Amy wondered how they were going to manage their spot later on, after the match.  The storyline called for Edge winning the match and the Intercontinental championship along with it.  Later on, he would be in the WWF locker room where Christian, Al Snow, Hardcore Holly, Matt and herself would be surrounding him, congratulating him.  There would be a spot in which they had to shake hands as she congratulated him personally.  She didn't have much of a poker face and wondered how she was going to pull this off - especially with Matt right at her side.  What if the man saw right through them?  What if he saw the truth in her and Adam's eyes when they looked at each other?

She winced as the man she loved took some painful chops in the chest in the corner.  "Come on, baby!" she said softly.

She turned suddenly as the door was open.  She was partly relieved when she saw it was only Trish.  And then she realized the blonde was accompanied by Jeff.

"Hi," the redhead said, then quickly turned back to the TV monitor.

Her two friends sat down near her, also watching the match.  After a beat, Jeff and Trish exchanged knowing glances.

"You love him, don't you?" the petite blonde woman suddenly questioned.

Amy turned to gaze at her, noting the big smile on Trish's face.  She smiled back at her friend as a slow nod began.  "Yeah," she admitted.  "I really do."

"Aww..."

The three of them continued to watch the match in silence except for an occasional utterance at the fantastic maneuvers both men executed.

"Come on, Adam..." Amy said softly as Lance Storm caught him in a submission leg hold.  The blond man's facial expression displayed agony as he slowly made it to the ropes, forcing the other man to release the hold.  And then he reversed it on the Alliance member.

A few minutes later, Christian ran down the ramp to the ring, seemingly to help his brother.  As the man went for a spear, Storm moved out of the way, and Christian instead nailed Edge.

The champion quickly took care of the interfering man before turning back to his opponent with a kick.  Edge blocked the maneuver, then went for his DDT finisher.  Storm managed to block his effort with a reversal, but Edge executed the move anyway - getting the three-count for the victory.

"Nice work, baby," Amy said with a small smile playing at her lips.

After exchanging a hug with his tag team partner, the tall blond held up his newly-won title, then departed the ring.

The redhead noticed how tired and sore her boyfriend appeared, and she made a mental note to make him feel better later on.  Maybe a massage - like he had given her after a RAW a couple of months back.

Jeff turned to his redheaded friend.  "Ames...I have to talk to you," he said.

She eyed him questioningly.

"Matt is onto you," the young man explained.  "He's been bugging me all day about how he knows you're sneaking around with someone."

"Oh, is that so?"  She arched an eyebrow as a feeling of annoyance swept through her.

"Yeah...and he's driving me nuts!" Jeff said.  "He doesn't suspect you and Adam are together, but he thinks you might be with Jay, or Chris, or even me."

"You?"  She instantly regretted her disbelieving tone.  "Oh, Jeff, I'm sorry...no offense...you know I love you, but it's just that...well, you're like my kid brother."

"I know, Ames.  Anyway, I think you and Adam had better make a production in front of Matt - and soon."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean," the rainbow-haired man said, "is that you guys should pick a fight in front of him - like you used to back when you guys didn't get along...that way, he'll never suspect you're with Adam."

She thought about this, wondering if that might not make them seem too obvious if they were to do this in front of Matt.  On the other hand, it might not be such a bad idea after all.

"Thanks for the suggestion, Jeff," she said.  "I'll bring it to Adam's attention."  She rolled her eyes as she thought of the older Hardy's overprotective big brother attitude toward her.  It was as if Matt wanted her to completely abstain from anything to do with a man that extended beyond friendship.  "Why does he have to get like this?"

"I dunno, Ames...I guess it's because he's afraid you'll get hurt or something."  The young man paused for a moment, considering whether or not he should tell her what was on his mind at that moment.  Then, "You know, I'll admit this - but...when you first told me about you and Adam...I got a little annoyed myself..."

"You did?"

"Yeah...but then, you were real upset, and I don't like seeing you like that.  But now...I know you guys are happy together," Jeff continued.  "I've seen the way your eyes sparkle when you talk about him...and even though Adam and I have never talked about you guys being together...I can tell he's crazy about you."

The diva smiled as her hazel eyes took on a dreamy, faraway look.  After a moment, she glanced from Jeff to Trish, who had remained silent for a long while.  The blonde still had that smile of her own on her pretty face.  "Jeff's right, Amy...Adam is crazy about you..."

*

Less than half an hour later, the spot that Amy had so been dreading happened.  The small group was gathered around Edge, who was sitting with his newly-won Intercontinental title belt over one shoulder.

As she praised him with encouraging words of congratulations with the guys, she felt a rush of happiness run through her.  Adam looked so happy, and he deserved the gold.

Christian was currently explaining how he had managed to get himself a shot at Matt and the European championship the next night on RAW.  When he walked away, Edge stood up and the dark-haired Hardy praised him for his victory, shaking his hand.  Amy held her breath in anticipation, as it was now her turn.

The second Matt had walked away, the new IC champ turned toward the redhead.  She offered him a smile and her congratulations for the second time.  They shook hands quickly, and Amy realized the same worries she was experiencing must have been in Adam's head.  The handshake was very fast, and she instantly pulled her hand away and followed Matt.  From across the room, she watched the little comedy skit between Edge and Christian that involved a call to the shorter man's cell phone from their "Grandma Edna."  She bit her lip as she watched them from where she stood across the room, knowing she would never bring up what was on her mind that night.  She didn't want to rain on Adam's parade, wanting him to have his happiness for the time being.

As she watched the exchange between Adam and Jay, she suddenly had the most uncomfortable feeling - as if a pair of eyes were watching her intently.  She turned her head slowly to see Matt, his dark eyes burning with intensity as he stared at her suspiciously.  Then, as she continued to eye him, the elder Hardy Boy shifted his gaze over to the two blond men, causing Amy a shudder to go through her.

But then she realized something odd - Matt was not eyeing Adam.  As the taller blond walked away, he had his eyes trained on Jay, his eyes narrowing.  The redhead had to catch herself so as to not exhale a breath of relief.























Part 14

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