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*RAW, May 7, 2001*
Edge glared across the ring with consternation and suspicion as he fixed his gaze to Eddy Guerrero. Oddly, Latino Heat was teaming up with the Hardy Boyz in their match against himself, Christian and Rhyno. The tall blond man couldn't shake the feeling that something was up. He didn't trust the former Radical as far as he could throw him.
Somehow, the Canadian had the feeling that Guerrero had his own agenda - and he believed that the beautiful redhead could very well be that agenda.
Edge shifted his gaze to Lita. She looked damn scrumptious tonight in a black mesh top over a navy blue sports bra, her tight black pants slung low to reveal her matching navy thong. Earlier in the night, they'd managed to meet up in the hallway, and he'd pulled her into an equipment closet to ravage her for awhile. It had been more of a quickie than anything else, and although they both would've wanted it to last longer, they hadn't had the time. And the blond man figured he'd better move his gaze off of her and get such thoughts out of his head, or else he would be in a lot of trouble in the next few minutes.
As the match proceeded, the tall blond man chanced a few glances Lita's way. He hoped she would heed what he'd said earlier that evening and not get physically involved. He was terrified of her getting in there and getting hurt, especially at the hands of Rhyno. Although his burly friend had said he wouldn't go after the redhead anymore, he couldn't feel rest assured it wouldn't happen. He wasn't sure what he would do if the Manbeast gored her again.
Impatient with the progress of the bout, the tall blond man ran into the ring when Christian lost the upper hand, but he was grabbed by Jeff Hardy. The colorful-haired young man took him down and delivered his typical low-blow leg drop maneuver, and as he was writhing in pain on the canvas, Edge failed to notice the wince that crossed Lita's face.
The redhead watched on with concern, her heart in her eyes as she chanced a glance over at her boyfriend, who by now was laying in a heap on the apron in his corner. Somehow, she wished she could tell the Hardyz... But she knew they would never understand. Sure, Edge had been their friend once upon a time, but he'd been their enemy for seemingly a lot longer.
Christian tagged Rhyno in, the bulky man overpowering the younger Hardy brother with his greater strength and a nice belly-to-belly suplex before pounding him with his meaty forearms. Then, turning around to his corner, he tagged the tall Canadian in.
Almost the moment Edge was in the ring, he ran over to the Hardyz corner and struck Eddy Guerrero, knocking the Latin man off the apron. He was filled with fury at the thought that the former Radical was up to no good - and why in hell couldn't Matt and Jeff see that? He knew Lita; the redhead seemed to be too trusting. And wasn't *that* a strange though, as it could definitely be applied to himself considering their entire relationship. Well, he'd never even entertained the *thought* of cheating on the diva, or of being mean or abusive toward her in any way... But the fact still remained that, more often than not, his intentions in the ring were different than hers. Her friends were still his enemies, and vice-versa. If only things could be different. If only...
Edge wasn't sure at first what in hell he was hearing - well, okay, he *did*, but it took him a few seconds to get his bearings as he was in the center of the ring with Matt. He looked up sharply as the sounds of moans suddenly filled the arena. His head snapped toward the entry ramp, to the TitanTron...
The entire arena seemed to have gone dead silent except for the sounds of sexual pleasure filling it, everyone involved in the match that had been taking place in the ring stopping to stare in shock. On the outside of the ring, Lita stood frozen, as though transfixed, her hazel eyes widening as she realized what exactly it was that was being played on G-TV over the TitanTron.
"Oh... my God!" she breathed, her voice barely a squeak as she recognized herself and Edge... It was *them*, *their* video they'd created out of love months earlier on a whim. Their nude, sweaty bodies writhed and entangled on the screen - not in color as it was shot, but in black and white as everything shown on G-TV was - and she felt the uncomfortable pounding of her heart wanting to explode in her chest. And the *sounds* - oh, God... all that moaning... Her screams that she'd tried to stifle by biting her lip...
"Edge... oh, God, Edge!!!"
"Lita... God, baby... Fuck, Lita!"
"What the hell...?!" Matt Hardy's dark eyes were wide as saucers as he turned to fix them on Edge, the tall blond man in complete and utter shock and at a total loss for words, movement, anything. All he could do was wonder how in hell their tape had gotten to be shown on G-TV... In fact, he was so flabbergasted, he didn't even react until the elder Hardy was suddenly upon him, pummeling him down to the canvas. And Jeff quickly joined in the beating, his punches just as fierce as his brother's.
"No! Stop! Stop it!" he heard Lita cry as the redhead was suddenly in the ring, and he managed to open his eyes to see her grabbing at Matt. She pulled him by one shoulder, telling him and Jeff to leave him alone.
"So, *this* is why you don't think of me in that way?" the dark Hardy asked murderously, his voice reduced to a near-whisper. "Because you were fucking *this* piece of garbage?"
"Shut up!" the redheaded diva shouted, and without even thinking about it, she pulled her right arm back and swiftly slapped her friend across the face. Matt's head was rocked to the side by the force of the blow, and he raised a hand to his cheek as he turned to look back at her in shock.
"Jeff - stop it! Leave him alone!" she shouted. Giving Matt a shove away from her, she bent over to grab the younger man. Once Jeff was off of him, she knelt down by Edge's side, concern sweeping over her and in her eyes as she laid both hands gently on the blond man. One of her hands came up to press tenderly against his cheek, and she spoke softly to him for a beat before he managed to sit up, his expression unreadable as he glanced from one Hardy brother to the other... And then to Rhyno, who looked amused, and Guerrero, who merely smirked... And then Christian, his best friend looking just as shocked as Lita and the Hardyz had appeared, and as he'd *felt*. Not a word did the other blond man speak.
"Do you care to *explain* that?!" Matt yelled, his gaze fixed to Edge. "You somehow lured her into your bed and *videotaped*?! Man, you're even a bigger piece of shit than I thought!"
"It's not like that, Matt!" the redhead hissed, her eyes glinting with anger as she turned back toward him. She shook her head, and her voice lowered as she spoke again. "You don't understand."
"*What's* there to understand, Lita?" he demanded. "It's all very plain to see what-"
"We're in *love*, you idiot!" the diva informed him icily. "And for your information, we've been together nearly seven months now."
The dark-haired man arched a brow in surprise, then frowned, as though he still didn't buy it. Jeff, on the other hand, seemed thoughtful as he mulled over Lita's words. The young man cocked his head to one side as he eyed his friend, then the blond man.
"Is this true?" He directed his question at Edge rather than the diva. "Do you really love her?"
The tall blond man raised a hand to rake at his hair, pushing it out of his face. He nodded.
"Yeah," he croaked out. "I really do love Lita."
Jeff nodded. Despite the length of time that they'd not seen eye-to-eye, and all the rotten stunts this man and his friend had pulled against them, he thought the Canadian was sincere.
"Then that's good enough for me."
"Jeff!" Matt shouted at his brother.
"The tape..." Edge muttered, shaking his head. He ignored everyone else and instead focused completely on Lita. "... How the hell did it-"
The redhead's eyes widened slightly as she came to a startling thought.
"Oh, God... I... I think I know who's behind all of this!" She met his green eyes again, and the blond man blinked as he thought it over. And then, after a silent moment of communication, it suddenly came to him. There was one man who'd been nothing but trouble over the last several months, one whom he'd known had been hell-bent on making Lita's life miserable.
"Well, shit... He's gotta pay for this," Edge growled as he slid under the bottom
rope, exiting the ring.