His blonde girlfriend had filled him in one some of the goings-on that had occurred since his suspension.  The dark-haired man knew Amy had punched Torrie yet again, and that it had happened the night he'd gotten word of his fate from Stephanie McMahon.

Matt also knew one other little tidbit, as he and Torrie had seen each other a couple of times on the diva's days off, when she'd come to Cameron, North Carolina to visit.  And what she'd enlightened him to had been very interesting, indeed.

One thing that had Matt extremely pissed off was the fact that his bitch ex-girlfriend had blabbed to his brother Jeff about how he'd put her in her place - when he'd taught her a lesson for hitting Torrie.  Practically the moment he'd returned home for his suspension, the younger Hardy had gone to him and damn near beat the living hell out of him, yelling and screaming about him having "beat up on Amy."

As Matt shoved open the door to his locker room, he scowled as he recalled the shoving match he'd had with Jeff.  Their dad had stepped in to break it up, but he'd seen the gleam of fury in his brother's eyes.  He'd very easily read the message in those intense green orbs - "You're not getting away with this..."

"Matt!" Torrie squealed as she looked up from the bag through which she'd been rummaging.  She rushed over to him, and the dark-haired man quickly kissed her on the lips, not even bothering to say hello.

"What's on the agenda for tonight?" Matt asked, his face serious as he was suddenly all business.

"That bitch Dawn Marie is supposed to get engaged to my father tonight," the tall blonde said, a scowl forming on her own face.  "And Edge and Rey Mysterio have a two out of three falls match against Angle and Benoit for the new Tag Team championships."

The dark-haired man arched a brow at the latter news.  "So, I guess Lovely Lita," he said, putting an obnoxious emphasis on the redhead's in-ring name, "is gonna be out there at ringside?"

"I guess so," Torrie said with a disinterested shrug.  Although she held absolutely no love toward the normally high-flying diva, she really wanted no part of her.  If Matt wanted to avenge what Amy had done to her two weeks previous, that was fine by her - as long as she didn't have to get physically involved.  In the span of a week, the redhead had given her a shiner and a bruised cheekbone.  She couldn't afford another tussle with the woman, as she feared the next thing to happen would be that she would lose a tooth or two.

"Yeah, that's interesting news," Matt said, a slow, devious smile spreading across his face.

*

Amy looked up as the door to the women's locker room suddenly opened.  She smiled to see Dawn Marie enter the room, but the grin diminished a bit when she saw how serious the expression on her friend's face looked.

Before the redhead could question her, Dawn spoke.

"Amy, I just ran into Billy Kidman out in the hallway.  He just saw Matt enter the building..."

"Oh.  No wonder your face looks like that."

"Billy said he looked all angry," the brunette told her.

"Well, that's just tough, isn't it?" Amy spat rhetorically.  "He made his bed, and now he has to lie in it."

"Yeah," Dawn Marie said with a disgusted look on her face, "with Torrie Wilson!"

"Yuk!" Nidia exclaimed from across the room.  The petite brunette edged closer to her two friends.  "You know, I just wish I could be put in a real match with her - just once...I'd show her what being Tough Enough is all about!"  She made a fist as though for emphasis.

"I know how you feel, Nid," Dawn Marie said with a nod.  "But just imagine how Amy here must feel - she's a proven, legit, tough wrestler and she can't even compete for at least another six months.  And you know how badly she wants to kick Torrie's ass!"

"Thanks, Dawn," the redhead said with a smirk.

The brunette smiled, her friend's sarcasm seemingly lost on her.

"Anyway...I'm not going to let Matt's return dampen my spirits," Amy announced.  "He and Torrie can just go to hell for all I care."  She didn't want to tell them the truth, that she really was worried about what her former boyfriend might try to do.  She didn't want to alarm the other two women.

"Hey, you must be excited for your man!" Dawn Marie exclaimed, a happy grin on her face.  "He's going to become a Tag Team champion tonight!"

"Yeah - for the ninth time," the redheaded diva said with a small smile.  "Sure, I'm excited for him.  He's really amazing."

"I wish I could be out there at ringside for Rey like you'll be for Adam."

Amy smiled, glancing over at the other brunette and exchanging looks with her.  Nidia winked at her knowingly.

"Unfortunately, I'm going to be getting 'engaged' to that old fart tonight..." Dawn continued, wrinkling her nose in distaste.  "I can't believe they're dragging this storyline on so much.  You know, I'm thinking of complaining to Stephanie..."

"You should," Amy said.  "I know I would."

The three women looked up at the knocking on the door.  The redhead rushed over to answer it, knowing it had to be Adam collecting her for the match.  Sure enough, the tall blond man stood out in the doorway, leaning comfortably against the doorframe.

"Hey..."

"Hey yourself," the Canadian said with a grin.  He lowered his head to hers and gave her a quick but sweet kiss on the lips.

Dawn Marie and Nidia exchanged glances, each woman sort of breathless at the sweetness of the new couple.

"Ready?" Adam asked.  He glanced at the two brunettes and waved at them, but his gaze instantly returned to the redhead.

"Yeah...all set.  See you later, ladies."  Amy grinned at her two friends and waved as she followed her boyfriend out into the hallway...