The fall seemed to be passing very quickly - too quickly.  It was Adam's 28th birthday, and he felt a bit depressed.

His feelings didn't stem from a fight with a friend or from something having to do with his career.  He felt sad because he knew Jay had been in fact correct when he'd told him he was in love with Amy - even though it had been nearly a year earlier and he'd denied it, he realized his best friend had been right.  He was in love with the redhead - deeply in love with her - and he didn't know what to do about it.

Adam realized that if Amy hadn't expressed the fact of Shane Helms being her friend when she'd told him about breaking it off with him, he would have already told her of his feelings.

"...he is my friend, and that's all he'll ever be..."

He squeezed his eyes shut in frustration, running one hand through his long blond hair.  He couldn't stand the way he was feeling.  Maybe he should just end the friendship he and Amy had...

What the hell am I thinking? he wondered bitterly.  If he ended their friendship, Amy would just think he was nothing but shit - which was exactly how he was suddenly feeling for his ridiculous thoughts.  Oh, well - love did do strange, even crazy things to people.

Adam gathered up the rest of his things and left the locker room he'd been in.  The SmackDown taping was officially over, and he was supposed to meet Jay just outside.  They would be riding back to the hotel together.  He was glad.  In a way, he hoped that no one had anything planned for his birthday, because he was feeling rotten enough to just spend the evening in his hotel room, left to his thoughts.

*

"Ames...it would be the perfect time!" Chris Jericho cried as he watched his redheaded friend pace back and forth in her hotel room.  They were preparing for a surprise birthday party for Adam that Amy had insisted upon.

She stopped, holding some party streamers in her right hand.  Eyeing her friend, she said, "I can't do that...I just can't..."

"But why?"

"You just don't understand, Chris!" Amy cried, placing a hand to her forehead.  "A woman picks up certain signs...and there have been indications that he doesn't see me as anything more than a friend - a buddy!  Like I told you, I'm nothing more than 'one of the guys!'"

The blond man rolled his crystal blue eyes in frustration.  "Oh, for crying out loud!"  He came over to the diva and placed his hands on her shoulders.  "Listen to me, Ames...you have to talk to the man...you can't just assume that he would push you away, or that he would be averse to the idea of you and him - I really don't know what you're so afraid of.  It's not like you at all - you're so tough, in and out of the ring, you speak your mind freely, and yet you're such a wimp when it comes to a guy who's been your friend for such a long time - you claim you feel totally comfortable around him - prove it!"

The redhead stared into the man's clear eyes for a moment without speaking, then, without warning, her expression changed, and she looked crestfallen as she tried not to cry.

"Oh, Ames...I'm sorry," Chris said softly.  "I didn't mean to be so harsh with you."  He swept her into his arms, hugging her tightly.  He gently rocked her back and forth as she clung onto him.

Amy held her breath, holding back the tears.  She hated the situation she was in - she was in love with a man who would never see her the way she saw him...

"It's just that...like I said, you don't understand, Chris," she said softly, her voice breaking slightly as she gazed up at him.  "There was a guy I had feelings for back in my ECW days..."

"Oh?" Jericho asked gently.  "And what happened?"

"He was a wrestler, too...and we were friends.  And I did tell him how I felt - I said I liked him a lot...I even asked him out - but he said he never saw me that way...and never would..."  Unshed tears welled up in her hazel eyes as she recounted the story.  "...before long, we stopped hanging out, and when I asked him about it, he told me he didn't like me and didn't even want me for a friend anymore!"

"Aww, Ames...that really sucks."

She pressed her face into his chest.  "So, you see why I don't want to say anything to Adam - I can't risk losing him.  And this time, I'm in love - it's not like with the other guy, whom I only liked.  I'm sure you can understand that."

He nodded.  "I do understand...I really do..."  Chris smoothed some of her red hair off her face and didn't speak for a moment.  Then, "Can I ask you something?"

"What?"  She looked up at him, the sorrowful expression still on her face.

"Is this ECW guy now in the WWF?"

"No...no, he isn't," Amy said, shaking her head.

"Good...because if he was, I would have to go kick his ass for you," Chris said with a slight smile.

Amy laughed softly, hugging him against her and feeling a tiny bit better.

*

"Jay, I really don't feel like-"

"Oh, come on, man...she wanted to talk to us for a minute, that's all."  He didn't know what other excuse he could come up with to get Adam to go to Amy's hotel room with him.  The tall man was acting pretty cranky that night, and he guessed it had something to do with his getting closer to the age of thirty.

Jay knocked on the door to Amy's room, waiting patiently for the redhead to answer.  He turned to study Adam, only to find him glaring at him.  If looks could kill, Jay supposed he would be dead on the floor.

The door suddenly opened, and Amy smiled out at them.  "Hi, guys..."  As she ushered them inside, a group of wrestlers, who had been hiding, jumped out in sight and yelled, "Surprise!"

Adam was actually surprised.  He had expect something, but hadn't expected it to take place in Amy's room.  As he glanced around the room at all his friends, stopping his gaze on the redhead, his mood brightened considerably.  The diva had a warm smile on her pretty face as she gazed up at him.

"Thank you, guys..."  He glanced at Jay, who was wearing a silly grin on his face, Trish suddenly at his side.

"We sure got you, didn't we?" his best friend asked with a chuckle as he put an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders.

"Well...yeah," Adam admitted.  "I knew there would be a party, but I had no idea it would be here, in Amy's room."  He turned his gaze back on the redhead, the uncontrollable urge to sweep her into his embrace nearly overwhelming.

"Happy birthday, Adam," she said softly, still smiling, her hazel eyes shining.  As if reading the tall Canadian's mind, she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.  He, in turn, enveloped her in his embrace, lowering his chin gently on the top of her head, rubbing it against her fragrant hair.

Across the room, neither Adam nor Amy noticed Chris Jericho watching both of them intently.  The blond wore a small, knowing grin on his face.