Scars heal in time Chapter 4
A/N: So, just wanted to let you guys know that I'm still alive (though I'm probably sure you'd want to kill me right now). Hope you can forgive me for the late update. Also, a reminder, I changed the name of the fic 'cause I realized that 'Broken' is such a common title (and a pretty boring one if you ask me). By the way, I don't want to make excuses but I made this chapter lighter than the previous one 'cause..come on..I think I made John suffer too much. So this is a pretty safe chapter, no violence at the moment. Alright, enough of the rant! Hope you enjoy and have a nice day!
Three days had already passed since Wade last laid eyes on John, and that went way back when they went out for a drink in the bar. And every growing minute since then the Brit felt more and more uneasy, worried and restless. Well, for one, it's very likely that John might had gotten himself in trouble for hanging out with him. Of course, he couldn't rule out that Randy could have been so damn angry about it that he brought down his hand on the CeNation leader. The more Wade thought about it, the stronger his stomach churned and his heart leapt inside his chest like it wanted to rip out of his ribs.
Pacing around the Corre locker room, the Brit ran his right palm through his face and willed himself to calm down, although he couldn't blame himself for being so worried. Three days. For three days John didn't go to the house shows. But Orton was present in every event and every time somebody asked him where the hell Cena was, the Viper merely shrugged like he didn't care and said that he had no idea; that maybe Cena wasn't in the mood to wrestle that night.
Well fuck that. If there was one thing Wade admired of John, it was the will to make it to every live event their company provided. But if the guy couldn't make it for three nights, then it was probably because of an injury. Then again, if he was suffering from an injury, why were the writers unaware of it?
Frustrated for unknown reasons, Wade sat down on the bench, huffing angrily as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his lap, placing his palms together like he was praying. With his eyes closed, he forced himself to calm down; to stop thinking about it too much. And somehow his worrying about the guy in a purple shirt made him a little weirded out. Now the question 'Where is John Cena?' was replaced with 'Why am I so worried about him?'
"Wade, is there something wrong?"
The Brit opened his eyes, glancing to his side and there he saw Justin, sitting beside him with a worried look on his face. Although he was quite surprised, Wade didn't let it show and instead, he leaned back on the bench, patting the back of the South African native.
"Jus' wanted to shut my eye fo' a second, Justin," Wade said with a reassuring smile. He stood from his seat and placed his hands in his pockets. Another uneasy sigh escaped his lips, his gaze focusing on the floor as his mind went on to think about the missing superstar.
Maybe he was concentrating too much that he didn't notice Heath and Zeke coming in the locker room. Only when the red-haired man spoke did the Brit realize he wasn't alone with Justin in the room anymore.
"Rehearsal's over. They want us back at six o'clock-what's going on here?"
Wade turned his head to Heath in surprise. He must have misunderstood the situation based on the look on their faces. Giving an innocent shrug, Wade replied calmly. "Nothin'."
Heath looked like he didn't believe what Wade just said and he continued to stare at the Brit like he was waiting for an explanation. However, Wade merely gave a tired sigh then walked to the door.
"Where are you going?" Justin asked, standing when he saw their co-member exiting the door.
"I need to ge' some fresh air."
And without waiting for a reply, Wade went out, gently closing the door behind him. He walked on, draining any thoughts that had been bugging him all day, but it was a difficult task. Every now and then a voice would whisper on his ear and say such things like 'You're not trying to help him. You're making the situation worse. You should mind your own business. Let him suffer on his own.' The words were clear but completely stupid. He wasn't trying to help Cena out of this deadly relationship. He just wanted to know if his hunches were true: that Orton was an evil psychopath and Cena was a stupid martyr.
Wade stopped in the middle of the hallway and closed his eyes as he massaged his temples with his fingers. It was a habit of him to stop and keep quiet when his mind was battling with opposing thoughts like earlier and thankfully, it was helpful.
Well, most of the time.
There was a voice coming closer to him and Wade didn't bother looking who it was. He knew whose voice that belonged to. It was Josh Matthews and it seemed like he was arguing...okay, maybe pleading to someone and he sounded so desperate. Curious all of a sudden, Wade opened his eyes and waited for the people to come into view.
"The audience went wild in disappointment when we announced that you weren't present. Come on, please, just have one short match tonight."
"Alright, Josh, I'll think about it," and with that, Wade's eyes widened and his heart-he couldn't rule it out-skipped a beat in sudden shock. He knew that voice very well. That was the voice he was waiting to hear for three days already. Finally, he was going to see John again.
Footsteps were coming closer and Wade fought between the thoughts of leaving or staying and somehow, his stubborn side won and he stayed, rooted on his spot, waiting for the two to appear.
"Okay, I'm not promising anything, alright? I just came from the hospital and I don't want to strain myself."
"Wha' do you mean you jus' came from the hospital?" The Brit blurted out, not holding back when Josh and John finally appeared in front of him. The two stopped walking and turned their attention to Wade, who had a pissed off look on his face. He approached them, not caring if John didn't like talking to him in front of other people.
"Good timing, Wade," the small ring commentator said with a sigh. "Can you please convince John to have just one match tonight? We're really expecting him to entertain the crowd later."
"Hey, you think I'll say yes to this kid?" John asked Josh, anger hinted in his tone. But it didn't seem to work for Josh scooted away, saying that he needed to do something important, leaving the former rivals alone in the corridor.
John removed his baseball cap, raking his fingers through his hair and adjusting the cap back on his head again. Then he turned his eyes to Wade almost forcefully. "No matter what you say, I won't guarantee that I'll be wrestling tonight."
"I don't give a damn abou' tha'," Wade responded in a heartbeat. "You said you jus' came from the hospital. Wha' happened to you?"
The CeNation leader's eyes narrowed at the Brit, maybe in confusion or suspicion, but Wade didn't care. He moved closer to John, waiting for the American to explain himself. However, the answer to his question wasn't what he was expecting for John moved away, huffing out an indifferent breath.
"It's not a big deal."
Wade's brows met incredulously and he mouthed a silent 'What?' before gaining confidence again and following John. "You were gone fo' three nights! An' you say wha' happened to you isn't a big deal?"
"I told you, it's not. And mind your own business."
Mouth hanging open in surprise, Wade's brows furrowed and he stomped toward the older man, pulling him by the elbow almost forcefully. John merely gave him a stern look, as if he didn't have any choice. And with that simple glance, Wade felt his stomach churn. So the good side he saw from the guy was gone in an instant, huh? Still, that didn't matter to the Brit; he wanted answers and he wanted it now. And he didn't care whether John would trust him or not. He got his own ways, even if it would make him look bad.
"I know somethin' abou' you, John," Wade said, his voice lowering down in threat. He closed in on John, just like the many times he threatened the guy about his job. "Something tha' will destroy you once I le' the world know. So if you do no' wan' to cooperate, well, I think you'll have to start biddin' all your dreams bye-bye."
The threat made John jerk up and his teeth grit in unmistakable anger. Wade knew it would work; he'd been working in the same story line with the guy for half a year. He knew where to push the right buttons simply to make him angry. That was why he smirked and placed his arm around John's shoulder, not even worrying if the guy would push him off.
"How abou' we ge' ou' of this place, yeah?" The Brit asked, dragging John away who snarled but didn't fight him off. The man didn't even answer; he just kept on walking as Wade led him to the locker rooms. "Look at tha'. Silence means yes, righ'?"
And indeed John didn't make any sound except the angry huffs he let out every now and then. Wade felt him shake under him and he had to admit, he felt guilty with what he was doing. He knew that the guy was going through some serious stuff right now, and threatening him might build more pressure on his shoulders-no pun intended. This was the best way available for now. Either the easy way or the hard way and apparently, the easy way was out of option.
The two men stopped in front of the Corre locker room, much to John's surprise. With another smirk, Wade pushed the door open, finding his co-members on the other side. And as soon as their eyes found John standing beside Wade, their faces turned pale like they just saw a ghost. It was an amusing sight, really, and Wade didn't stop the smile creeping up his lips.
"Who wants to go on a trip around town?" Wade blurted out happily, patting John's back with his hand as he dragged the guy into the room.
"W-We're needed back at six, Wade," Heath stammered at him, his eyes glued to the CeNation leader. Wade chuckled, realizing that he really caught the guys off guard.
"Screw the match tonigh'. Let's 'ave some fun!" Wade said in a tone that sounded like they were going on a Christmas vacation or something. He turned to Justin, expecting a positive answer from him. "Come on, you guys were buggin' me abou' takin' some time off, remember?"
"Yeah, Wade, but we have a match tonight," Zeke answered for Justin. "We can't just walk off without letting the upper management know."
"So you guys don't wan' to go?" The Brit asked thoughtfully, though he knew his voice was filled with sarcasm. "That's okay, I think our tour guide here still wants to come along, righ', John?"
He gave John another pat, this time encouragingly. If the guys didn't want to spend the day off, then so be it. It wasn't like they needed him, anyway. "I'll ge' my things ready."
"Alright, wait a second," Justin interrupted, stopping Wade from getting his duffel bag which was placed on the bench. "I'll go with you."
It seemed that all of the people in the room snapped their heads towards the South African and the guy's face slowly turned red in embarrassment. Honestly, though, Wade appreciated Justin's loyalty toward him; he wasn't expecting the guys to go with him anyway. That was why he grinned wholeheartedly and said, "See tha'? Now tha's wha' I call a fun guy. Anybody else still wan' to come along?"
Zeke and Heath looked at each other before nodding reluctantly, which Wade returned with a knowing smile. "Good. Let's pack our things, then."
A long stupid pointless, annoying hour later, John found himself walking behind Wade and The Corre, his jaw clenched and teeth bared behind his lips. He could feel his ears ringing and pounding as his eyes locked on the back of the Brit's head. He had to keep his temper inside, that he knew, but fuck it was so hard to do. With just thoughts of walking along with the group he hated as much as he hated the Nexus (he never faced them in a match yet but their tactics made John sick to his stomach that he wanted to rush into the ring whenever they appeared out of nowhere) and the memory of Wade Barrett having the guts to fucking threaten him made his sight go dark and if he wasn't careful, he would have ended up in rampage and yeah, it would definitely be a hit in the media. But he couldn't rush into them and attack them in public especially now that Barrett had found a way to get under his skin again. God, the guy just made him so fucking pissed off. And to think they shared one good night, hanging out and drinking like real buddies.
Thinking about it, though, what in the world did Barrett know about him? He felt another scrape inside his gut, making him huff a heavy breath from the pit of his stomach. He scrubbed his face with his palm and when he opened his eyes, he found the Bareknuckle fighter looking at him with, what was that look, worry?
"You okay there, John?" Wade asked, no mock or sarcasm in his tone. Just plain curiosity. But that wouldn't fool John. The CeNation leader looked away, grunting in response.
He was expecting a mocking laugh after that but nothing of the sort came and he stared at the back of Wade's head. What was it with this guy? One second, he was all Mr. Nice Fella, next he was back to that stupid asshole act of his then back to being concerned, I'm-worried-about-you guy. It was so fucking unpredictable that John just wanted to ram the Brit's face down the gutter until he got his mind straight.
Damn, he never got this angry in his life.
Mind still racing, John lifted his head up when he heard a soft chuckle hitting his ears, something he wasn't quite expecting to hear at a time like this. He lifted his head, finding Wade smiling, his arms folded across his chest as he chatted with Ezekiel who was shaking his head and chuckling lightly. Watching the two made it look like nothing else would go wrong.
"Not again," Zeke exclaimed, throwing a hand toward Heath and Gabriel's direction. The former tag-team champions were already footsteps ahead of them. They were talking loudly, pushing each other away roughly then one of them would grab the other's head in a headlock. John's first instinct was to ask Wade and Ezekiel to stop Heath and Justin before things could get worse, but he didn't see worry on their faces. Instead, they kept on walking forward, almost as if they weren't caring whether Justin ripped Heath's head or the other way around.
"Told you, Zeke," Wade said, answering the hanging question his companion asked him. "You better ge' used to this."
"Yeah, I know, but they're causing trouble out there."
Wade went silent, watching Heath and Justin closely before nodding at Zeke. "You're righ'," and then he turned to John, much to the CeNation leader's surprise. "Go over those two an' tell them to keep it down, would you?"
John frowned, suddenly pissed off. What? He was back as the lackey of this stupid English assed Brit? "What if I don't want to?" He spat almost cockily, folding his arms on his chest, imitating Wade's stance and trying to provoke him so they could already start fighting.
"You do as I say or else." And with that claim, John raised an eyebrow, waiting for more. Come on, Wade could do far better than that.
"Or else what?" The American pushed on, wanting to get Wade angry so they could settle this once and for all. But despite his efforts, the Brit merely shrugged and jerked his head toward Ezekiel.
"Or else Zeke here will go over to them and stop them instead."
Okay, that wasn't what John was expecting. But what the heck, it was better than getting his ass kicked by four men, now that he realized it. It was just suspicious that Wade wasn't using the words 'You do as I say or you're finished' or something like that. Dropping his arms, John stomped toward Heath and Justin, who were bantering and throwing off made up names at each other. Why in the world did he agree to babysit a couple of babyheads, anyway?
"Hey you two!" John yelled, interrupting Justin's attempt to shout 'ginger' at Heath. The former tag-team champions snapped their heads toward him, faces filled with confusion and surprise. John jerked a thumb toward Wade and Zeke. "Your boss wants you to stop messing around and keep it down."
"And why would we listen to you?" Heath countered, his hands going to his hips. It made John growl angrily inside and he tried to resist strangling the man with his bare hands.
"Because I'm your Daddy's errand boy, Wendy," John almost barked, his tone filled with authority. And it seemed to work for Heath's features softened and he pointed his fingers at Justin.
"He started it, not me!" He exclaimed accusingly and Justin threw him and angry look.
"I did not!"
Heath turned his head to Justin this time. "Did to!"
"Did not!"
"Did to!"
"Did not!"
"Did to!"
"Okay, okay!" John interrupted before he himself could explode. He didn't know these two could be so childish. But at least he got their attention and he took the chance to speak up. "Tell me what happened first."
The CeNation leader looked from one to the other and thought they weren't going to budge. Then, almost hesitantly, Justin huffed out a breath, throwing a glance at Heath. "He called me midget."
"No I did not!"
"You'll get your turn soon, Wendy," John said, pointing his index finger at the red haired man. Then he turned back to Justin, frowning at him. "That's it? Did he say anything else?"
The young man lowered his gaze and slowly shook his head, making John sigh in exasperation. Maybe this was why Wade wanted him to tag along. What an ass. Yes, he was used to greeting his fans which mostly consisted of children, but that didn't mean he was babysitting them like what he was doing to these overgrown six year olds. Trying to keep his patience at bay, he turned to Heath who was looking away.
"I want you to apologize to Justin," he said with a tone that said this argument was over. Thankfully, Heath was cooperative and he looked at Justin, taking in a deep breath.
"I'm sorry I called you midget," Heath croaked and it made John smile. Hey, that wasn't bad. And when he turned to Justin, the man was nodding slowly, although his head was still turned away. When John heard him mumbling apologies in reply, he placed his hands on his hips, smiling to himself for a job well done.
Then, almost as if on cue, he felt a light thump on his back and he turned to see a smiling Wade beside him. "Nice work, John. You never fail to live up to your expectations."
That statement snapped something inside John, in a negative way of course. This time, he didn't try stopping himself anymore and he slapped Wade's hand away from him, eyes glaring at the Bareknuckle fighter. "What, you've been expecting me to be your ever-so-wonderful babysitter?"
The Brit shrugged almost innocently, a little smile tugging up on the corners of his lips. "Well, you've been workin' with children fo' quite a while now."
John heard something snap in his head. His fist curled up in growing anger and his jaw clenched so tight it almost hurt. He was really giving up. This guy would never be satisfied as long as he wasn't humiliated or embarrassed in public or even just in front of his co-members. It was a mistake to associate himself with this demented group and he never wanted anything to do with them anymore. He never wanted anything to do with Wade Barrett anymore.
What angered John more was Wade's calm take in the situation. The man looked like he wasn't caring a bit whether John would actually hit him in the face. Rather, it seemed like he was expecting John not to hit him at all. It took every ounce of self-control or else, he would have swung a fist right in the Brit's face. Even Heath, Justin and Zeke were feeling his murderous energy and the three braced themselves for what was going to happen.
"It was a joke, Cena."
Okay, that didn't help with his anger at all and it just made his anger flare up a notch. Funny how this guy found certain things amusing, he thought. His fist clenched once more, ready to do some beating and some payback for everything this asshole had put him through.
Still, Wade kept his calm demeanor and he shrugged again at the American. "I was actually expectin' you to handle arguments in the group withou' a swea', which you had done quite well. I was impressed, I have to say. We need someone like tha' in the group."
John stopped momentarily, taken aback with Wade's claim. How could I forget, he thought sarcastically. Barrett wanted him in the group, not the other way around. Oh, so now this was a test, huh? To see if he was really qualified to get in the team. And somehow, it looked like he passed this test. He let out a smirk in his mind. He couldn't wait until he could turn this stupid group down.
Letting out a convincing sigh, he glanced at the Brit and made the shift of his emotions obvious for them to see. "Make those kinds of silly jokes again and I'll start breaking your fingers one by one."
Wade nodded and there were no traces of suspicion in his face although he kind of looked distracted as he answered, "Note taken."
Nodding back at him, John turned around, keeping his gaze low to the ground. Seriously, he should be nominated for Oscars for what he was doing right now.
After the incident with Heath and Justin, the day went on without any other life-threatening events happening and John was thankful for that. If he wasn't able to control himself from strangling Barrett from too much anger, The Corre would surely gang up on him and send him to the hospital and this time, they would make it permanent for sure. It was a number's game and as far as he knew, four against one never ended up good in his part. He really got no other choice but to go along with this group he despised as much as the New Nexus. Come to think of it, it was like he was back in the old days where he would have to hang out with the old Nexus by force. There wasn't much difference at all. He still followed them like a dog tailing his master wherever they went. No matter how degrading that sounded for John, it was all true. He got to admit, though, there were slight changes in this group but he still couldn't place it whether these changes were good for him or not.
Sure, Heath and Justin still ignored his presence like he wasn't even there, but Heath wasn't throwing John some of his offending remarks anymore. Jackson, on the other hand, was somehow like Otunga, ordering him to do this and that but Zeke was actually doing it in a nicer way. John had always seen the better side of the guy so he wasn't expecting him to be a bully or anything like that.
Now, Wade Barrett, this was another story for the Massachusetts native.
Since they all left, John had kept his distance from the group as far as possible. He kept his pace slow, letting the group move ahead of him. Better seclude himself rather than see their faces that would probably just piss him off, he decided. Also, with that much distance, he could plan his escape without them noticing. None of them would care if he just disappeared, right? So he walked slowly, waiting for the chance to run off or hide behind a tree.
But with the Brit occasionally glancing at him, the task had become much more difficult than it was. To add with that, John noticed that Wade was slowing down as well and it was as if he was adjusting to the American's pace. It kinda gave him an unsettling feeling in his stomach. Wade Barrett from Nexus wasn't like this; the Wade he knew would walk ahead of the group, never giving a fuck whether his group was following behind him as long as he was walking to his destination. This Wade would turn his head to him every now and then, sometimes letting the gaze settle for a couple of seconds before going forward. It wasn't that John was bothered by it; it was just that whenever the Brit looked at him, all he could see was worry and it brings him back to the night when they had a couple of drinks, finally talking like normal people.
His mind was swimming in thoughts and his eyes were so focused on the back of Wade's head that when the larger man turned again, he actually jumped in surprise and his hand flew to his chest as if he was keeping his heart from leaping out of his ribs. He must look comical right now, eyes like deer caught in headlights and mouth slightly parted from a shout that was stuck in his throat, but Wade wasn't even cracking a smile. Instead, he stopped and faced him, arms folding across his chest.
"Are you alrigh', Cena?"
John gulped and took a deep breath, nodding although he was still in shock. "Y-yeah, I'm good. You just surprised me, that's all."
"Seemed like you were thinkin' of somethin' deep."
Yeah, I was thinking of how to kill you by making it look like an accident, John's mind went but something else came out of his mouth. Without thinking of it, he looked straight into Wade's eyes, took a step forward, spoke with a serious tone. "Why exactly did you bring me along with your group, Barrett?"
The Brit locked his gaze with Cena. It reminded John of how they always did this staring contest in the ring although back then, what he saw in Wade's eyes were arrogance, stubbornness, greed. This time, all he could see was worry: a look that he had been seeing from him the whole day.
"Can you give us a minute, Zeke?" Wade asked Jackson who seemed to have taken interest in the situation. "Go with Heath an' Justin. John an' I will catch up."
Nodding hesitantly, Zeke took heed of Wade's order and he went on ahead, dragging the former tagteam champions on each elbow. Now that he was alone with Wade, he didn't know what to do. The situation was in his advantage now that Wade's team was gone, if ever they get into a brawl, but there was something in his gut that was telling him that there wouldn't be any fight that would go on tonight.
"Wha' d'you want to know, Cena?"
Time to be serious, John thought. He sighed, letting out a huff before answering. "Why am I really here, Wade? I am done with being your slave. I don't want to be your lackey again."
"I didn't bring you along to be my lackey, John."
"Then what am I doing here?" John asked, this time, his voice rising in impatience. "You know that if it wasn't for your fucking threat, I wouldn't be here!"
Wade looked surprised to hear John say something about a threat but he wouldn't fall for that. The guy was just trying to catch him off guard and any time soon he would remember about the blackmail he made before he was forced to have a stroll with The Corre. Sure enough, Wade nodded in comprehension, and it seemed like he finally remembered what he did. Odd thing, though, he looked like he was confused of everything as well.
"You're still goin' on with tha'?" Wade asked him, letting out a chuckle in disbelief. "John, tha' was an empty-handed threa'."
John let his mouth hang open, unable to form the words as soon as the words finally registered in his head. To be honest, he really didn't understand. It was like he heard some other language and the only words that left his mouth was, "Wait, what?"
"I was jus' pretendin' tha' I knew somethin' abou' you, bu' you should know I was jus' bluffin'!" Wade exclaimed with a laugh. "Or if you'd like a threa' then I can start tellin' people how emotional you are abou' your past, bu' that's ou' of bounds now, innit?"
At loss for words, John froze on his feet, unable to make any reaction from what he just heard. Honestly, he didn't know if he should be glad knowing that Wade didn't hold any information that he should be worried about or if he should be annoyed to know that he was dragged out of the arena for nothing. He couldn't deny that he was relieved, though; at least one problem out of the way for now.
"Now, to answer your question," Wade took a step toward the older man, and John noticed that there was a hint of cheerfulness in the Brit's voice. "I forced you to come with us today because I though' tha' you needed a break."
"A break?" John gave an incredulous laugh. "I don't need a break. I'm all right."
"Tha' is no' wha' everybody is seein'. Well, maybe, at least tha' is no' wha' I am seein'."
John looked up at Wade, taken aback with what the guy said. He couldn't be serious, right? He was fine. He didn't need a break. He did what he did best, and that was entertaining his fans, even his haters. They gave him the will to walk forward each day, to strive hard and work with the best that he could. Everything was okay. For him, there was nothing to worry about. No problem at all.
Your boyfriend is beating you up without reason.
It was that little voice again, the one that always reminded him of the pain, the punches, the bruises. It was that little nagging voice that whispered in detail what he was dreading for every time he entered his hotel room. It was that little voice that made him fear for his life, and made him fearful of his own lover. The voice that always made him recall, even if he had buried the memories in the back of his head, even if he forced himself to forget every single thing Randy had done to him.
"I am righ', aren't I?"
John shook his head, this time, laughing freely now. He really should stop acting like an ass right now and just be thankful. Wade was probably trying to help him in his own subtle way, even if his only way was to threaten people. He got to admit, for the past four months, nobody had tried helping him. No one, not even his old friends, had tried asking why he wasn't hanging out with them anymore. And now, as ironic as it seemed, his former enemy was the one who was holding out a hand to help him out.
The CeNation leader let out a sigh and along with it, he released all the negative energy that was circling around him since he received that empty-handed threat from Wade. He even smiled in embarrassment, took his baseball cap off and raked his short hair with his fingers.
"I'm sorry for being an asshole earlier. I didn't know that you just wanted to hang out."
Wade chuckled and once again, John saw the Wade Barrett he hanged out with the other night; the nice British folk he shared his grim past with. Looked like the guy's gentle side wasn't just his imagination after all.
"You go' every righ' to be mad, so I understand. I should've made it clear at firs' bu' you wouldn't have agreed to come with us if I didn't threaten you."
"Yeah," John said with a laugh as he placed his baseball cap back in his head. "You know I wouldn't have."
From the moment John Cena had been stuck in the storyline he had with Wade Barrett, he figured that there was no way in hell that they would get along, even only as acquaintances. Now, as he smiled back and walked side by side with the Brit, he realized that maybe change wasn't so bad after all. He knew it was too sudden to assume that they could finally co-exist without wanting to rip each other's heads off, but who knew that after months of being alone, he would finally find a friend in a man he once considered his rival and enemy?
Somehow, the day had become more bearable than he thought.