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❝ You need to think about yourself for once. ❞

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Jordan had waited too long.

Of course, she didn't even know how she felt until a few weeks ago, but she had still put off telling him. Now, his wedding was tomorrow and she had all these feelings she had kept bottled up inside, and it was going to break her one of these days if she didn't tell him.

She was telling him tonight; she had already decided that, and Tommaso was on board with the idea (actually, he had wanted her to tell him weeks ago, but he figured that this was better than waiting even longer).

Now, though, she was at the Performance Center. There was something she needed to do first.

X X X

Jordan sat in her bedroom.

Her phone sat on her bed, in front of her. She had picked it up and set it back down too many times to count. She would plan on calling him, panic, and set her phone back down.

She took a deep breath, and reached for the phone again. When it suddenly began ringing, she jerked her hand back. When she saw that it was Johnny, she picked it up and answered it, before she could regret it.

"Hey," She greeted. "Shouldn't you be worrying about your wedding? What are you doing calling me?" She was joking, of course, but she was surprised that he had called her.

"You're not our manager anymore?" He asked.

"I thought they were going to wait before they told you," She replied.

"But he's telling the truth?"

"Yeah, he is."

"He said that you asked to stop managing," He said. "As soon as possible."

He sounded hurt, and she didn't blame him. The tag team had welcomed her with open arms when they stuck her with them, and they had all grown quite close over the past couple of months. It probably didn't sound good that she had asked to leave her new friends. Jordan knew that she could lie, say that she just wanted to focus on singles competition, maybe go after the NXT Women's Championship. But that wasn't the truth, and she was done lying to him.

"Are you busy?" She asked. "Can we talk?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," She replied. "It's just, I'd feel better if I told you face-to-face, you know?"

"Okay, yeah."

He told her that he was at home, because Candice was wanting to stick with the tradition of not seeing him before the wedding.

When they hung up, Jordan set her phone back down on the bed.

She knew that she could just text him, and give him the lie about wanting the title (it was very believable), but she knew she couldn't. No matter how tempting it seemed, she knew it wasn't the right thing to do.

It was now or never.

X X X

"I just... Managing you guys has been great, but I just want to focus on actually being part of the women's division, and winning the title, you know?"

And just like that, she had lied to him. She had lied right to his face. Not only that, but it was the lie she had sworn she wouldn't tell him.

"Hey, I get it," He said, not an ounce of doubt in his voice. He fully believed what she had said. "We were a team before you came along. We can get along without you. You need to focus on yourself. We all want the title..." He trailed off. "Well, I don't want the women's title."

She laughed. "Hey, I think you'd look quite nice with the women's title."

"I'm not saying I wouldn't," He said. "But have you seen Asuka? I'm not fighting her."

And just like that, Jordan realized why she had lied to him. She didn't want to lose this.

Sure, it was just a silly conversation, but there were only so many people she could have one with. There were even less people that she felt comfortable around, just in general. He had slowly become one of her best friends, and if she went her whole life without ever telling him how she felt, then so be it. She would rather see him happy and with Candice. She didn't want things to be awkward between them.

After a few more minutes of talking, he had to leave. A few seconds later, she got a text from Tommaso.

So you told him?

Not exactly...

She was surprised when he called her instead of texting her back.

"Hey – "

"You need to tell him," He interrupted.

"Not yet."

"Why not?" He sounded angry, but also like he was disappointed in her.

"He's getting married tomorrow," She reminded him. "I'm not about to ruin his day by telling him how I feel. He doesn't deserve that."

"You don't deserve feeling like shit every time you see him with Candice," He said. "You need to think about yourself for once. You can try acting like this doesn't bother you, Jordan, but it does. I know it does. And, one day, Johnny is going to know it does, too. He's going to look at you and realize how unhappy you are, and once you finally tell him, he's going to feel like shit."

"I know..." She said, softly.

"Jordan – "

"I'll tell him after his honeymoon," She told him. "I promise. If I don't, you can tell him. You can tell him everything."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," She said. "You're right. If I don't tell him, we're both going to end up feeling like shit, and I don't want that."

"Okay," He said. "Good."

X X X

Jordan arrived at the wedding by herself. She hadn't actually bothered getting a date, and Tommaso would be coming with his wife.

She found her seat. Tommaso ended up sitting next to her.

She watched as Johnny walked down the aisle first. She smiled when she saw him, even if he wasn't looking at her.

Candice walked down the aisle next, and she continued smiling. She looked gorgeous in her dress, and just so, so happy.

She watched as they said their vows, and she watched as he kissed the bride.

She was happy for them, sure, because they were her friends. But for the first time, she was jealous. Not because Candice was marrying him, as they obviously loved each other, but because she made him happy.

It was an irrational thought, but it had creeped its way into her brain. Candice made him happy, but Jordan wanted to be the one who made him happy. She didn't care if they ever got married, but she just wanted him to be happy.

By the end of the ceremony, one thought was running through her mind.

I've got to tell him.

***

Just an FYI: I might write a one-shot in the future, where I'll go into Johnny + Candice's wedding in more detail. I may just come back and edit this chapter. Who knows?

I hope you liked this chapter! :)