Twelve-year old Chris Jericho clutched his gym bag to his chest as he entered the boys locker room at the middle school.  The other kids on his hockey team had warned him about this place, about the older kids who snapped you with wet towels or hid your clothing from you, but he hadn't believed them, until he walked into here.  He felt like everyone was staring at him...and everyone was so BIG!  His parents kept telling him he would grow soon, but he was still pathetically short.

One of the boys, tall and bulky with crooked teeth, came up to me.  "And what do we have HERE?" he asked, spit flying out of his mouth with each word.

Another kid came up behind him.  "Aww, did you get lost from the elementary school?"

Chris held his bag closer, as if it could protect him.  The first boy lifted him up, almost off his feet, by the collar of his shirt.  "What's your name, runt?"

"Ch-Chris." he stammered, tears welling up in his eyes.  Of all the horrors he had imagined middle school could be, this was much worse.

"Chris?  Is that short for Christine????"  one of the older boys sneered.

Mercifully, the gym teacher poked his head into the locker room.  "Alex!  Roger!  You boys better hurry up in there, you've got laps to do!" he bellowed.

The boy, now known as Alex, dropped Chris into a shaking heap on the ground.  "We'll finish this later..."

*** Jericho's POV ***
I wake up sweating.  Oh God, what's going on?  It's been a long time since I last had these nightmares.  Hell, I think the last time was in WCW when I woke up Saturn with my screaming...and he was all the way down the hall.  They can't be coming back....not now...Fingers brush my arm and I instinctually flinch, still stuck in the memories.  Luckily, I'm still somewhere close to my senses and I roll over to face a half-awake, but still concerned, Hunter.  "You ok?" he murmured.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." I tell him.  "Just a bad dream.  Go back to sleep."

I think he might have actually left me alone if I hadn't told him to.  "You wanna talk about it?"  Oh great, now he's fully awake and I'll never get rid of him.

"No, I'm ok, really.  You need your sleep."  I try a smile, hoping it will ease his mind so he'll leave me alone.

I guess it worked.  He just pulls me into his arms, kisses the top of my head, and immediately falls back to sleep.  I only wish it were that easy for me.  I stay up for the rest  of the night, almost trying not to fall asleep, afraid that if I do the rest of the nightmare will haunt my dreams.

*** Hunter's POV ***

It's too damn early to be awake, but unfortunately, I am.  Chris, looking like he hasn't slept in a week, is reading the newspaper while I'm trying (key word here is "trying") to make coffee without burning myself.  Finally, the coffeemaker is running properly and I can sit down, holding an ice cube to one of my scald marks, and squint worriedly at Jericho.  "You look tired." I said, trying to remain nonchalant.

He blinks up at me.  "Huh?  Oh...yeah, I couldn't sleep last night, don't know what was wrong...."

"Could it maybe be related to the fact you woke up in a panic at 3 am?"  He glares at me and I hold the stare.  One of us is going to have to back down here and it isn't going to be me.

He looks away first.  "Look, I told you I was fine.  I don't want to talk about it and I'd really like you to respect that."

Well fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine.  Be that way.  "Whatever you say Chris.  Just....I'm here for you, ok?"

A look of pain crosses his face for a spilt second, and now I'm positive something's going on.  He quickly regains his composure.  "Ok Hunter.  Thanks.  But I'm alright, I promise."

"Sure you are."  I smile at him sarcastically, he returns the grin.  The coffeemaker beeps and I get up to pour us cups of coffee, and as we drink, conversation slips back to normal and the events of last night almost slip out of my mind.  Almost.

***
"Look at the pansy try and run!  This is funny!"  The eighth grade class had finished their exercises and were now sitting on the grass watching the seventh graders.  Chris wasn't actually doing all that bad, he was somewhere in the middle, but Alex and Roger, the two main taunters, didn't really seem to notice.

Once the seventh graders had gotten done with their running, all the students went inside to the locker room.  "Hey pansy!"  Alex yelled.   "You look like you need some help with your running."

"Go away."  Chris said quietly, trying to change while attracting as little attention as possible.

"But I just want to help!"  Alex said.  "Now come on, why don't you 'run' and get me my notebook from my bag?"

"B-but....I have to finish my math homework."  Chris stammered.  If he didn't get that math assignment done, the teacher was going to call his parents, and Chris really wasn't in the mood for a lecture.

"Did you say no to me?"  Alex hissed.  He shoved Chris down, hard enough to cause a large bruise at the base of Chris's spine.  "You don't say no, next time I ask you to do something, alright?"  He kicked Chris's knee, hard, and the younger boy whimpered as he nodded.  "Now go get me my notebook."

Chris struggled to his feet, using the bench for support, and limped over to Alex's backpack.  He got the notebook and brought it back.  Alex tore out a sheet, wrote "Pansy" on it, and stuck it to Chris's shirt.  "Now I think everyone else should know what a pansy you are, so why don't you just wear this for the rest of the day, ok?"

The bell rang and everyone left, Chris shuffling behind with his throbbing knee.  When Alex was out of sight, he tore the sheet of paper off of his shirt and prepared to throw it away, when a voice stopped him.  "I don't think that's what Alex told you to do."  Roger said, taking the paper and re-sticking it to Chris.  Abruptly, he pushed Chris hard against the wall.  "Don't disobey us again."  With that said, he walked away.
 

*** Jericho's POV ***

Oh shit.  It's happening again, and not just at night now.  This is just great.  Now I'm waking up in a cold sweat on the plane.  And guess who's sitting next to me?  Hunter's smiling at me, but he looks worried behind it.  For a second, I consider telling him what's going on, just so he doesn't have to be concerned anymore, but the thought of telling him the whole story makes me sick to my stomach.  I can't tell him.  I can't tell anyone....

Hunter reaches over to brush the side of my face.  "Another nightmare?"

I nod.  "Really, I'm fine, I just go through this sometimes...these bad dreams...they'll go away soon, I promise."

He looks at me skeptically.  "Look, I can't force you to talk to me...well, I could, but I don't want to use my impressive physique against you....but I really wish you'd just tell me what's wrong."

I force myself to smile.  "Nothing is wrong."  I kiss him lightly.  "When are we gonna land, anyways?  These plane seats can't be good for your back."

He winces.  "I don't know, hopefully soon.  Wish I'd thought to bring my aspirin with me."  Mission accomplished, once more I have successfully diverted the subject away from myself.  I manage to talk him into reclining his seat and taking a nap.  With Hunter softly snoring next to me, I look up at the ceiling of the plane.  I thought it was over, I thought that with finally having my career working out and finding someone I really truly loved, I would finally be free of the memories.  I guess not.
____________
I know you're only protecting yourself
I know you're thinking of somebody else
Someone who hurt you
But I'm not above making up for the love
You've been denying you could ever feel
I'm not above doing anything
To restore your faith if I can
-"Innocent Man", Billy Joel