He sat picking at the food on his plate arranging it in piles, but not eating much of anything. His only company was his conscience and it spent most of its time taunting him… reminding him that his current situation was no one's fault but his own. CJ wouldn't return his calls. Benny punched him on the rare occasion that their paths crossed, and there was a distance between him and Jay the size of Texas.

His relationship with Matt which had never been sable (much like the man himself) was transformed into something scary and ugly. Amy had been in the end nothing more than a flash in the pan and nowhere near worth all the trouble that being with her caused. Since he was never that close or even nice to Jeff and Shannon before all this went down there wasn't much use exploring that avenue now. And it hadn't taken Adam long to realize that The Game was only worth the effort when you wanted something otherwise the "price" you had to pay to be with him was simply too high for a guy who hadn't even made it to the main event yet. Adam discovered that he was somewhat low on self confidence and wasn't willing to sell what little he had to Paul Levesque and his monster of a wife. Travis… well Travis was a memory that he would just as soon forget.

So….

Basically as Adam saw it he was now an outcast amongst people that he had to spend most of his time with. He had no friends to hang out with during his long travels away from home, no lovers to warm up his bed with him at night, nobody to travel with to keep boredom at bay or to call when he was at home and lonely or bored. Adam was now acceptant of the fact that he was a bastard and realized that maybe all the lying wasn't worth the brain power.

Almost daily since Matt went to Smackdown even though in reality Adam had nothing to do with it, something of his came up missing or was destroyed. He was pretty sure that Matt's new girlfriend Ashley was behind it. He would love to tell her that her new beau wasn't the innocent victim that he'd made himself out to be, but realized that firstly she'd never believe him and secondly knew that sooner or later Matt's true colors would be come very apparent to her.

Adam didn't claim to be a changed man. Along with the realization that he was a bastard came the knowledge that in several occasions he enjoyed being a bastard and really didn't want to give that up. It was his opinion that there were several people around there that deserved all of his bastardly evilness in as large of doses as he could dish it out. What he did believe was that he'd grown up some this year and along with this new found maturity came the knowledge that there were some decent people that either had never done any wrong by him or had not deserved the wrong he had done to them. The problem was that he had no idea how to fix the latter or the courage to approach the former and ask for a companionship that he so desperately needed.

Across the room Glen stood behind Show and Shawn Michaels in line only paying them half attention as he watched Adam trying to look like he didn't mind being ostracized from the rest of the company just because Vince liked the way Matt Hardy gave head.

"Whaddya think Pauly? Should we take pity on poor Glen and sit with Adam? Maybe nudge this little crush of his along?"

Glen felt his face growing warm and sighed knowing that he was blushing. He found it annoying and embarrassing that a man his age and size still blushed. It wasn't like he was one of these pretty boy twinks running around that could do it and look cute, but Glen knew that he had no control over it so he suffered through it and the teasing that came with it. Fortunately he knew that at least where Shawn and Show were concerned it was all good natured teasing.

"Aww, look hims little cheeks are turning pink Shawny! Isn' hims jus tha cutes little thing!" Show teased him and Glen growled at him, but they both knew that it was pointless. Show was one of the few people in the world that could over power him. Shawn simply shook his head at Glen's weightless threat and headed to Adam's table setting his things down in front of the younger blonde. Adam was concentrating intently on the designs he was making on his plate with his uneaten food and therefore jumped when Shawn set his plate down not expecting the sound.

"Jumpy much?" A deep voice rumbled good naturedly behind him before Adam saw Show set his things down at one end of the table . Turning his head to look around expecting barely contained laughter to be on the faces of those at the other tables, Adam saw most were paying them no attentions and the ones that were seemed only to be slightly curious. When finally a red faced Glen joined them at the other end of the table and seemed to be eyeing him strangely Adam was too shocked at the company to interpret the look and filed it away for later inspection.

"I just…" Adam started to speak and turned his attention back to the sparkling blue eyes of one HBK. "People don't sit with me you know. I'm like a modern day leper." Adam finally got out, but Shawn only shrugged appearing as if he could care less before Show spoke.

"Why? You got the plague or something? I don't want no body parts fallin' off into my chop suey."

Adam looked at Show confused. Surely the man knew what went down with him and Amy this year and that as a result he was viewed as a parasite by the others. He was about to ask Show if he was teasing him until Glen's soft and yet commanding voice stopped him demanding his full attention.

"There isn't one of us that cares what the rest of the locker room thinks that we should do. Shawn and I have both put in enough time that we can decide for ourselves who we're going to socialize with and I doubt there's any person in this company with balls big enough to tell Show he can't eat dinner with you."

"But why would you stick your neck out for me?" Adam demanded somewhat recklessly afraid that this was some kind of backstage prank still. "I'm a bad person remember? The wrecker of happy relationships? Wife stealer? All around bastard? Amy… Matt… ring any bells?"

When Glen's serious expression twisted into a big smile and a chuckle escaped his lips, Adam found himself frowning again even more confused than before and at the same time momentarily enchanted at the transformation it made on this man's face taking him from intimidating monster to jovial giant.

"First off, let me remind you that Mark is my best friend kid. You ain't even come close to him on the bastard list yet and frankly I ain't ever been accused of being some kinda saint either. So if we made a list of all your evil deeds they couldn't even make half of either mine or Mark's. So go easy on the evil bastard thing,… you're like…. A bastard with training wheels yet as far as I'm concerned.

"Secondly, they don't call Balding over there The Heartbreaker for nothing. I could name names for an hour of the relationships he's destroyed in his lifetime and still not come close to a complete list. So I think we can overlook your one transgression.

"And thirdly, well shit Amy is a slut and Matt is a fuckin' psychopath so who really gives a shit?"

Adam looked at Shawn to see what he would say to the remarks and had to giggle at the pout on his face.

"Paul tell him to stop exaggerating. It'd only take him half hour tops… maybe forty five minutes max!"

When Adam looked at Show the big man winked at him before reaching over with one of his big paws and patted his lover's head. "Sure thing baby. I'll slap him around for ya."

Turning his attention to Glen Adam saw that Kane was making an appearance again and wondered what the big monster would have to say.

"Oh baby, you better not be teasin' and make sure you make it hard cause you know I like it freaky like that."

Adam's eyes got big not believing those words actually made their way our of Glen's mouth although his face was slowly turning bright red. This made Adam giggle even more, but luckily his giggles were hidden by Show's loud belly laughs.

"You know bubble butt that would be more effective if your face wasn't the color of your old ring gear."

Glen growled and Adam's eyes got big again waiting for the response. He briefly wondered if these three really were friends or not, but then thought of some of the conversations he used to have with CJ, Benny, and Jay and realized they must be very close.

"Shut up, Tiny, and have another cheeseburger why don't ya? Maybe one of these days you will give birth to that Holstein you've been carrying around."

When Show growled back this time Adam looked to Shawn wondering seriously if he should be starting to get worried, but the older man just winked at him so he relaxed.

"Ok boys play nice before Adam and I go find a couple of men who will pay attention to us pretty boys."

"Where the fuck are we goin' to man Siberia? You may be able to still find someone who wants to drool over you with the snap of your fingers, but I don't have such an easy time of it these days." When Shawn just grinned at him, Adam relaxed further starting to actually feel like he was a part of the group. It had been quite awhile since he was able to banter with friends.

"Oh, I don't think you'd have to go to Siberia," Shawn purred mysteriously and Adam lifted an eyebrow at the statement. Any interest in him was news he had not heard of and wondered if Shawn's sanity was diminishing in proportion to his hair count.

"Shit you wouldn't have to leave catering… or the table for that matter, right bubble butt?" Show injected and Shawn winked at Adam again grinning like trhe cat that just ate the canary.

Adam turned his head to Glen to ask him what his friends were talking about only to find the man in an intense study of his plate. Adam's head cocked to one side as he remembered the look from earlier and the pieces started to fall into place although Adam was having a hard time believing that it could be true. Thinking he must be on the wrong track Adam looked to Shawn only to find him studying the ceiling tiles and when he looked at Show the big man had a grin on his face that told you he was about to cause some trouble.

"What's the matter Glen? Can't think of anything to say?"

Now Adam never claimed to be a brain surgeon, but you'd have to be daft not to get the not so subtle hints that Show was throwing out. Slowly Adam's gaze made its way back to Glen only to find himself the subject of that intense scrutiny now. "Glen?" He asked afraid to believe that it could be true.

Unfortunately instead of answering Glen bolted from the room moving faster than a man of his size should be able to. However, if Glen thought that Adam was going to let him out of answering the question that easily then obviously the man didn't grasp the full extent of Adam's loneliness because quickly Adam was out of his chair and chasing after him.

As he chased after Glen, Adam's self doubt taunted him insisting that he couldn't possibly be thinking right. In all the years that Adam knew Glen he'd never heard of any kind of confirmation that the man was into… well men. The closest that anyone ever got was the odd relationship he shared with Sean Waltman, and Adam certainly wasn't comparable to that hyperactive Kliq bunny.

"Glen," Adam called again as he reached out this time grabbing Glen's arm spinning the man around. When he saw the man's face, his own doubts were put on hold as he saw the uncertainty and worry on the big man's face. "Glen why did you leave?" Adam asked his voice quivering from the nerves gripping him. He knew that he was taking a big chance, but the possibility that maybe he wasn't as alone in the world as he though he was just was too irresistible to ignore.

"Who do you think Show was referring to back there?" Glen demanded ignoring the question Adam asked needing his own answered first.

Adam stared into Glen's eyes afraid to speak. The ridicule that he was sure to receive if he was wrong seemed to outweigh what he saw as a slim change that he was right. He watched the other man's head drop when he realized Adam wasn't going to respond turning to head down the hall his shoulders which were usually held with such confidence were slumped with dejection. Maybe once upon a time Adam would have let it go, but today he couldn't. This attack of conscience was the last burst that he needed and gave him the ounce of courage that he needed to speak if only because it was guilting him into it. "You! I thought he was talking about you."

Glen paused and turned slowly. His head was cocked to come side in a familiar Kane stance. "What do you think about that?"

Adam frowned at the unfairness of both the situation and the question. He seemed to be the only one laying it on the line risking what he wasn't yet convinced was anything other than an upcoming rejection. This time though he didn't wait for Glen to turn to leave before answering although he spoke hesitantly looking down at his hands which were twined together nervously. "I don't know exactly if you want the truth. I mean, I know that I don't want to be alone anymore, but I know that's not the same as wanting to be with you. I just know that…"

Adam paused as emotion clogged his throat and Glen clenched his fist at the desperation on his heart's face. The urge to comfort him was almost as strong as the need to go out and pound whomever was responsible for it. Glen had never cared for Matt. His brother Jeff and Sean had always been friends and therefore Glen had a soft spot for the younger Hardy, and therefore knew that things between the Hardy brothers were not as rosy off screen as they were onscreen. Matt was domineering and despite the fact that he treated Jeff as the one with the mental problems in Glen's opinion Jeff was the one closer to the normal side and it was Matt who needed the intense mental therapy.

Amy was a slut. She had always been a slut and probably would always be. Glen actually pitied the young woman who seemed to have such little self esteem and thought that she could find what she needed by spreading her legs for whatever came along. The problem he had with her was that she had very little problem with causing misery on others. Glen had spent enough time with her thanks to storylines and such that he knew he wanted to have nothing to do with her. As much as he pitied her, most of her problems were self inflicted and Glen had learned the hard way that when you came right down to it she just wasn't a very nice person. Glen felt that her and Matt made the perfect couple if only because they deserved each other. He was all for throwing the two of them on some deserted island and leaving them there.

Maybe it was his feelings speaking, but Glen felt that most of Adam's problems stemmed in immaturity and a low self esteem that unlike Amy could be fixed because it seemed as if Adam was trying to do something to fix it. Glen always liked Jay and when they were on the same roster the two of them had spent quite a bit of time talking. Given that Adam was Jay's oldest friend Glen learned quite a bit about the man. After learning everyting about Adam that Jay had to tell, Glen felt that most of Adam's problems could be solved with patience and being with someone older and of stronger will. In a lot of ways Adam reminded him of Sean. All he needed was someone to love him without the demands of sex that came from some of his others friends and a friendship that came without strings or judgement. Seany knew that no matter how bad he fucked up Glen would always be there with a shoulder and a place to stay til he got his head back on straight again. It was one of the few things that he and Hunter had in common.

Thinking about Sean Glen smiled and wondered what his friend would have to say about this new development. After Sean and Hunter got together Sean had been insistent that his friend take the same step with Adam. Glen would have to call his friend tonight to tell him the good news. When Adam began speaking again Glen turned his attention back to the blonde sighing at the pain the younger man was carrying around.

"I don't know how much longer I can be so completely alone. I know I did wrong, but what about Amy? What about all the people Matt's fucked around with? Why is it that what I did is so different than what any of these other people do? Just because I fucked someone backstage and not some damn ring rat that makes it worse?

"I have no friends left. I have no one I can talk to. I don't even have any reason to believe that it'll bet better… at least not until now. I don't know what I would do if you laughed in my face right now because I can't remember the last time that I had any reasonable hope that someone wanted even friendship let alone anything more. I could lie and say that I have some big crush on you, but I really won't because I really need this to work if you do care something about me. I need at least some kind of friendship out of this because I can't take any more of this damned isolation!

"I guess the only answer to your question is that I really need a chance to get to know you better so that I can figure it out because…

"Because God I need someone to love me again."

Adam watched Glen's eyes close as his fists clenched and worried that he'd gone too far, but Glen's softly spoken words that followed brought him his first moment of comfort in months.

"I like you Adam… more than a little. I think you've gotten the short end of the stick in all of this. As I stated earlier you aren't the first to do what you did and you certainly won't be the last. Regardless you don't deserve what they are doing to you and I promise that no matter what happens with this… whatever is between us I will always be your friend and I am confident that I can say the same for Show and Shawn. And if I have my say the attitude towards you is going to change but quick.

"Now if you would like I am without a travel partner right now. Usually I ride with Show and Shawn between shows, but I room alone. So if you think you wanna give this a chance… I would be happy to have you room with me. I am willing to give you whatever chances you need as long as you promise not to lie to me. I can handle just about anything but that. If you do decide you want a relationship the only other demand I have is faithfulness. Ain't nobody a saint, and I certainly don't want one."

Glenn grins lopsided. "I kinda enjoy being a bastard myself from time to time. So I'd be a hypocrite to demand you completely change your ways. 'Sides you'll never get along with Mark if you're not at least a little bit of a bastard."

Glen didn't know what happened next. He didn't even see Adam move, but all of a sudden he was in his arms squealing and hugging him like he thought Glen was gonna disappear. Down the hall Show and Shawn were grinning very satisfied with themselves. He noticed Hunter was leaning against a wall on his phone and Glen knew he wouldn't have to tell Sean, but he would have to call Mark and tell him. As he rubbed Adam's back, Glen smiled knowing that Mark would be nothing but happy for him. Resting his cheek on the top of Adam's head Glen only hoped that he could help Adam find some peace and then they both could be happy.

The End