"Yeah! Kick his ass, Y/N!" Juice cheers for you from the ring apron.
The AEW crowd hoots and hollers cheers at you and Julia Hart as the two of you go at it in the ring. You and Julia trade a few more blows before you manage to knock her to the mat. You quickly climb to the top rope and hit a picture-perfect moonsault before going for the pin.
Three seconds later, the bell rings and you're declared the victor in the match. Juice rushes into the ring with Austin and Colten and the trio all crowd around you cheering about your victory.
"Nice work, Y/N." Austin compliments you.
"Yeah, great job out there." Colten agrees.
You nod and everyone walks over to the edge of the ring to head backstage. "Thanks guys." You smile at them all.
Everyone makes their way back to the locker room where Jay is waiting. Austin and Colten have a match later so they walk off to get changed and Juice wanders off to catering. This leaves just you and Jay in the locker room.
"Nice job out there." Jay compliments you.
"Thanks." You reply dryly.
Jay nods and falls silent for a moment before he speaks up again. "So, are you going to tell me what's up with you?" He suddenly asks. "Are we going to do that thing where you're upset but refuse to talk about it? So I ask and you snap at me? Then we're both mad at each other for a week until you eventually just give in and tell me what's up anyway?" He asks you.
"Who said that something was wrong with me?" You scoff.
"Y/N." Jay replies. "Come on. Juice might be too dumb to see it. And Austin and Colten might not know you well enough. But I do." He reminds you. "So come on. What's up?" He scoots closer to you.
You let out a heavy sigh and look at Jay who's patiently waiting for you to answer him. "It's stupid, okay?" You insist.
"Don't care," Jay replies plainly. "So spill it."
"I thought I saw Riley yesterday, alright?" You finally burst. jumping to your feet in the process.
Jay falls silent and nods. "Oh." He replies quietly.
"I told you it was dumb." You shake your head.
"It's not dumb," Jay argues. "Come on, Y/N. It's alright." He pats your back. "Riley broke your heart. I can understand if you thought you saw him. It's not that big of a deal." He assures you.
You let out another sigh and set your head on Jay's shoulder. "If it's not such a big deal, then why do I feel like this?" You ask him.
"Like what?" Jay asks.
"Like I want to puke. Like I can't get enough air no matter how hard I try. Like I'm gonna bust out crying at any moment." Your vision starts to blur with the threat of tears.
Jay rubs your arm gently and sighs himself. "That's heartbreak for you, Y/N." He glances down at you. "I'm sorry you feel like shit. But it won't be like this forever, sweetheart." He assures you.
"Promise?" You glance up at him through blurry eyes.
"I promise." Jay nods.
Next week you and Jay are coming back to the hotel after some meet and greet event. You are walking ahead of Jay and telling him about these two sisters that you met at the event that were super cute and bubbly. Jay smiles and listens intently when he suddenly freezes while looking toward the check-in desk on the other side of the lobby.
"Jay?" You turn around when you notice that Jay has come to a stop. "What are you looking at?" You ask him.
"Nothing." Jay snaps out of it and puts a hand on your shoulder to turn you back around. "I just remembered that I left something in the rental car." He lies to you. "Go ahead up to the room without me. I'll be there in a minute."
You nod with furrowed brows. "Alright." You can't help but notice Jay's odd behavior, but elect to ignore it for the moment.
You head for the elevator but notice that Jay doesn't start moving until it's closing. Which is strange, to say the least.
Jay waits until your elevator closes before he turns back to the check-in desk with an angry look on his face. He marches over to the desk where there's some guy in a beanie talking with the last behind the counter.
"I better be wrong about this," Jay speaks aloud as he walks over to the desk. "Riley? Is that you?" He asks.
The guy at the desk turns around and sure enough, it's Riley aka El Phantasmo.
"Jay! What's going on man?" Riley smiles at his former friend and colleague.
"You've got some fucking nerve showing up here." Jay growls and grabs Riley's arm to drag him away from the desk.
Riley laughs casually and follows Jay away from the desk. "And what do you mean by that?" Riley asks Jay once they're away from the desk.
"You broke Y/N's heart! That's what!" Jay raises his voice. "Just tell me that's not why you're here?" He asks.
"Come on, Jay." Riley scoffs. "You don't really think that I meant to hurt her, do you?" He asks.
Jay rolls his eyes and resists the urge to punch his former friend in the face. "Well, you did. And if you think for one second that I'm about to let you get anywhere near her? Well, you're fucking delusional mate." He glares at Riley with disdain.
"And why is that?" Riley stands his ground. "Because you know that she's not over me?" He confronts Jay. "It's not my fault that you never had the balls to ask her out, Jay. I made a mistake when I broke it off. And I'm here to fix it."
"Like hell you are!" Jay steps toward Riley with another growl.
Before either man can go to make another move and start a brawl in the hotel lobby you show up somehow. "Jay? Riley?!"
Both men's gaze snaps at you as you make your way over to them. "Y/N! There you are!" Riley quickly jumps in front of Jay. "How have you been? You look great!" He starts off with a smile and a compliment.
"What are you doing here, Riley?" You confront him.
"I came down here to see you!" Riley replies. "I came to apologize. And to try and get you back," he explains with a hopeful smile. "I made a mistake, Y/N, okay? I miss you! We should have never broken up."
Your mouth hangs slightly ajar as Riley pleads his case with you. All the while, Jay is glaring a hole into the back of Riley's head.
"You don't have to listen to this tool, Y/N." Jay cuts in after a moment. "He doesn't deserve your forgiveness." He insists.
"Funny, I don't recall Y/N asking you anything about this." Riley turns to him.
Jay snarls and shoves Riley on the shoulder. "Funny. I don't recall you giving a shit or being around when she was crying her eyes out and a mess after you left!" He snaps back at Riley. "Why not? Oh, because that was me! I was the one there for her when she was upset! It's always me by her side!"
"She's not your girlfriend you desperate simp!" Riley fires right back.
"She's not yours anymore either!" Jay reminds him.
All the shouting begins to make you upset and you manage to slink away back up to the hotel room while the pair are arguing. Both men fall silent when they realize that you're gone.
"Oh great!" Jay scoffs. "Look at what you did!" He blames Riley.
"Me?" Riley matches his scoff. "You were the one yelling." He insists.
Both men argue on the elevator ride up to your floor. Jay goes to unlock the door when they reach it, but someone inside beats him to it. Juice comes out of the room with Colten at his side, and both of them look upset.
"What the fuck did you two do?" Juice confronts them both with his arms crossed over his chest. "Y/N's in there crying into Austin's chest because of you two idiots!" He scolds the pair.
"She's crying?" Jay replies with a softer expression. "Juice come on. Let me see her." He takes a step forward.
Juice puts his hand up and Colten blocks the door. "Not a chance in hell." Juice stands his ground. "Y/N doesn't want to see either of you losers right now."
"Yeah, so get lost!" Colten adds. "Both of you!"
With Colten and Juice guarding the door, Riley and Jay are both forced back down to the lounge in the lobby. They play the blame game for a while, and neither of them willing to admit that they upset you. But neither of them knows what they can do to make it up to you either.
A little while later, Colten comes down to the lounge and walks over to the pair. "Y/N wants to see both of you." He informs the pair. "But if anyone starts pointing fingers or yelling? Then you're both done."
"Alright." Jay nods.
"Yeah, okay." Riley agrees.
Colten nods and leads the pair back up to the hotel room. Everyone files in and finds you sitting next to Austin on your bed. "You two are acting like children." You inform both of them.
"We know." Jay nods sheepishly.
"And we're sorry," Riley adds.
You nod and take a deep breath. "Good. But if I'm being honest? I don't want to hear either of you out. At least not right now. So I'm asking you both to just give me some space for the rest of the day, okay?" You ask them.
"Yeah, alright." Jay nods.
"Whatever you need, Y/N." Riley agrees.
"Good." You nod. "Juice, Austin, Colten, and I are going to head to the show. Jay, you're not scheduled for anything so I'm asking you to stay here." You ask him. "And if you two can act civil when we're back. Well, then we can all talk."
Jay and Riley both nod and agree to give you space for the rest of the day. You gather your stuff and head out with Austin and Colten. Juice hangs back for a minute and confronts his friends one last time.
"I suggest that the two of you take this time to figure your shit out." He suggests.
"Yeah, we will." Jay nods.
Juice leaves the door and Jay turns to Riley with a civil expression.
"So." Riley sits down.
"So," Jay repeats him and does the same. "Let's talk."