Amy Dumas sat at a table in the cafe of the restaurant at the hotel in which she was staying.  Sitting with her were Matt and Jeff Hardy, her two closest friends.  While the brothers discussed what would be happening next for them in the squared circle, she tried to listen and even put in her two cents every now and then, but she was too preoccupied.

It was ridiculous - it had only been one night - and that one night never should have happened.  But the memory of Adam Copeland's touch, his hauntingly beautiful emerald-green eyes and intoxicating kisses - all stayed with Amy.

She tried to shake these thoughts off, willed them away - in the nearly a year they'd known each other, she and the blond man had never gotten along.  It seemed they were natural enemies.  She was way better off without him - and without remembering one strange night of mindless passion they'd shared that had actually started out with violence.

"What do you think about that, Ames?"

Amy suddenly became aware that Matt was talking to her.  "Huh?"

"I was just asking you about the strategy Jeff and I were planning for our next match against Right to Censor."

"Oh..."  She wracked her brain but realized she hadn't picked up a word either Hardy had said.

"Are you all right, Amy?" Jeff questioned, reaching across the table to gently grasp his friend's wrist.

The redhead quickly ran both hands through her long hair.  "Yeah...I'm fine," she replied with a tiny smile for her friends' benefit.  "Just a little tired, that's all."

Despite her words, both men looked at her doubtingly.  Amy knew Matt and Jeff were onto her.  They both knew her so well and always could see right through her when she was lying.  Then again, she was a terrible liar.

She suddenly whipped her head in the direction of the entrance to the cafe, a voice penetrating her thoughts.  A voice which she had replayed over and over in her mind over the past couple of weeks.  Adam...

Amy's gaze was drawn to the tall, handsome blond Canadian as he entered the room with his best friend, Jay Reso.  She felt a surge of anger well up inside of her as she realized he wasn't looking at her.  She felt invisible - used...unimportant.  Like a skank, as Adam had called her once during that night.

"Hey, guys!" Jeff was suddenly calling to them.  Amy wanted to hit her rainbow-haired friend for this but restrained herself.

The two blond men waved and came over.  Matt and Jeff were friends with Adam and Jay - and Amy herself was friends with Jay.  It was just Adam and Amy who never seemed to see eye to eye.  Therefore, she always made sure to hang out with any combination of them without Adam, or else made herself scarce whenever he was around them.  It seemed anytime they'd tried to hang out together, they always ended up at each other's throats.  Somehow, a simple conversation would always end up in an argument.

"Why don't you sit with us?" Matt suggested as he kicked out the chair across from him.

Amy wanted to smack the dark-haired man on the arm as a way to "thank" him for the invitation, but she didn't.  Instead, she kept her mouth shut and clasped her hands on the table before her.

"Hey, Ames," Jay said with a smile.  Amy said a reluctant hello back.  She liked Jay Reso.  He was kind, warm and had a goofy sense of humor that made her laugh and feel at ease.  She wondered how he and Adam, who was so much different, had ever become friends.

Adam - he hadn't said hello to her, and she hadn't greeted him, either.  They usually avoided such niceties.  She turned her head away, refusing to even look in his direction.  No one but them knew about that night, and they had never even so much as discussed it afterward.

The four men briefly discussed some upcoming matches, and the redhead merely sipped her coffee, not contributing to the conversation.  She didn't care - she had nothing to say, as her mind was still occupied.  Then, all of a sudden, something drew her attention.

"So, what do you guys think of the new diva?  She's hot, isn't she?"

Amy turned her head to stare at Adam, whom she knew was referring to Nora Greenwald.  The little blonde had just made her WWF debut on RAW earlier that week as Molly Holly, cousin of Crash and Hardcore.

"Yeah, she's pretty cute," Matt concurred.  "Good wrestler, too."

"I wouldn't mind training with that," Adam continued.  "She can pin me anytime!"  He flashed that famous grin of his, and Amy was suddenly fuming as she glared at him quite obviously.

The elder Hardy chuckled a bit as he reached over to high-five the tall blond.

"Err, guys," Jay interjected.  "We do have a lady present here."  He glanced meaningfully at Amy, a little embarrassed over how the other guys were acting.

"Of course...sorry, Ames," Matt said sincerely as he nudged her.

But the redhead barely heard him.  Her mind and eyes were still completely focused on Adam as she stared at him with disgust - which, to her shock, she was not feeling merely as a result of his behavior.  She wondered why she would suddenly have any feelings of jealousy listening to his mindless blither about Nora Greenwald or any other woman.  The truth was, she didn't care whether Adam Copeland lived or died.  Actually, that wasn't true - while she disliked him with a passion, she would never wish him death.  Maybe just a little physical suffering...

*

The Following Month - December 2000

Amy was enjoying herself during her current angle in which Dean Malenko relentlessly pursued Lita.  In reality, Dean was a real sweetheart who actually calmed her down quite a bit.  The two of them also had some matches against one another - so they prepared for them by training together.

At the Armageddon pay-per-view, the six person mixed tag team elimination match pitting Team Xtreme against Radicalz Eddy Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Malenko saw Lita and Dean as the last two competitors.

Although the diva lost, she was still thrilled about having been in the match.  Not only did it increase her popularity with the fans, but it also showed the world she was able to wrestle in a physical match with a man.  Perhaps she would get more shots at the Light Heavyweight title in the future because of this.

After the match, Amy walked to the back with Matt and Jeff, who had come out to assist her after Dean's victory via his Texas Cloverleaf.  He'd tossed her out of the ring like a ragdoll when it was all over.

"That was fantastic, Ames!" Matt was complimenting her, when suddenly, her attention was shifted elsewhere.  The redhead narrowed her eyes as she stared at the pair several feet away, yet nearby.

Adam Copeland and Nora Greenwald were chatting just a few steps from the women's locker room.  Well, the petite blonde was currently doing the talking, the tall Canadian leaning casually and comfortably against the wall as he listened.  He was grinning at her as he gazed, with what looked to Amy to be fascination, down into her pretty face.

Amy could tell the two blonds liked each other, and it made her fill with rage.  She especially hated that, in order to get to the locker room, she would have to pass right by them.

"You okay, Amy?" Jeff was asking her.

She glanced up into his face and then at Matt as well.  "Yeah...of course...why wouldn't I be?"  Then, realizing they were in front of the Hardys' locker room, she said, "I'll leave you guys to shower now.  See you later."  Before either of them could utter a reply, she trotted off, her steps quickening as she passed Adam and Nora.  She was relieved when she was inside the locker room, but she wasn't looking forward to the blond diva returning.

*

"I should get back to my locker room now," Adam said as he forced himself not to look toward the closed door of the women's locker room.  It had taken a lot of his willpower not to turn his head to stare at the redhead who had passed by a few minutes earlier.

"Okay," Nora said.  "Well, Adam, it was really nice of you to show me around and stuff...maybe we'll run into each other later?"

"Yeah," the tall blond said with a smile.  He was actually betting on it.  "See you."

When Nora was gone, he walked down the hallway to the locker room he and Jay were sharing.  He thought about what he'd been doing the last few weeks and sighed, running his hand through his long blond hair.

He knew that what he was doing was rotten and underhanded, but he didn't see any other way.  In his mind, this was the only way to be sure.  Well, not quite the only way - he had a few more tricks up his sleeve.  He would save that for a bit later.

*

January 2001

"Hey, Trish," Adam said as he approached the petite form of Trish Stratus.

"Hi, Adam," the small Canadian blonde replied with a smile.  "What's up?"

"Well," he began.  "Funny you should ask that, because I need a favor from you."

Prettily arching an eyebrow, the blonde said, "What kind of favor?"

Adam proceeded to explain what he had in mind, and by the time he was done, Trish's face was dominated by a frown.  "I don't think I like that idea, Adam."

"Oh, come on, Trish," he said.  "It's not that big a deal."  He grinned at the short blonde as if his smile could convince her to change her mind.

"But it's not right," she protested.  "I don't understand...why don't you just be honest?"

"Because I'm not sure I'll like the response I'd get.  I know it's not the most ethical thing in the world to do," the tall blond man continued, "but I'll make it up to you somehow...promise."

Trish eyed him for a moment, mulling it over.  She didn't like his plan, but when she really thought about it, it wasn't that bad a thing to do.  Finally, she brightened, a smile coming to her face that went all the way up to her chocolate-brown eyes.  "Okay...you've got yourself a deal...I'll do it."