Part 3

"Can I… can I say something now?" Chris heard the scratchiness in the normally smooth drawl and peeked up at Shawn. He couldn't understand why Shawn had tear-tracks down his cheeks. He needed to know.

"Shawn, why are you crying?" Chris lifted his hand to Shawn's face and gently wiped the tears from his cheeks.

Shawn closed his eyes at Chris's touch forcing a few more tears down his cheeks. "Chris, I know you probably won't believe me, but I swear what I'm going to say is the truth."

"I remember that night. When I went back to talk to Hunter, he was really pissed off about something. Until now, I had no clue about what it was. We talked a bit about the situation with Sean. I won't get into it now, because that's his story. The whole time he kept giving me dirty looks and I figured it was because I'd turned him down yet again. I left his locker room to get ready for our segment. The next thing I knew you were cutting your promo and it was nowhere near what we had planned. I didn't know why you changed it. I tried to talk to you afterwards and you just left."

He opened his eyes and stared into Chris's own, hoping to convey his sincerity. "Hunter never gave me the letter. I never read it. I didn't send him to answer you. Most importantly, I never would have said something so blatantly untrue about you. I never would have wanted to hurt you like that."

They sat quietly for a moment. Shawn raging internally at the unfairness of what had happened and at the lies that had been told. Chris was digesting the fact that everything he'd believed about Shawn for the last two years was based on Hunter's lies. Finally Shawn's rage boiled over. He walked over to the table and slammed his hands down on top of it. Chris jumped at the loud noise after the quiet of the last few moments.

"He knew! Damn it! He knew what it was going to do to you and he damn sure knew how much it was going to hurt me. The next time I see that bastard, I'm gonna hurt him. I'm going to hurt him badly. I'm going to make him suffer for the lies he told and for how much they hurt you, Chris. I swear I'm going to get even with him."

Chris hadn't said anything since his confession. Shawn turned to look at him and realized that it had finally sunk in for him. He watched as anger flashed in Chris's eyes. He took a step back and waited for him to unleash it. He didn't have to wait long. Chris's fits of rage were legendary in the locker room. He watched as Chris reached for the closest thing he could find, which happened to be Shawn's suitcase. The next thing he knew it had exploded against the far wall, showering the room in clothes and toiletries. He noticed the dent in the wall from the force of the suitcase hitting it and decided to back up to the nearest wall to give Chris more room to vent. And vent he did.

The ceramic lamp from the bedside table shattered into around one hundred pieces as it went the way of the suitcase. The first chair was smashed over the tabletop and ended up in about three pieces. Chris flipped the table over on it's top and gave it a hard shove sending it perilously close to the balcony doors. The second chair went flying and with a loud crack and sizzle took out the television screen. The painting on the wall was slammed repeatedly against the floor cracking the frame before Chris put his foot through the canvas. The phone cord and all was ripped from the wall and ended up in pieces somewhere in the vicinity of the bathroom door. With a small smirk he picked up the remote to the television and whipped it at the door that led to the hallway outside.

As Shawn watched Chris destroy the room, he was struck by the thought that it was a good thing he hadn't gotten a suite instead, although Chris probably would have appreciated more ammunition. If it hadn't been for his mood, he would have laughed at that thought. He was grateful that Chris was aiming for the walls and not the balcony doors. That would have been a huge mess. He really hoped the next room wasn't occupied or they'd be getting a visit from security shortly. Not that it mattered. He'd simply pay for the damages and slip them a little extra to leave it alone. He'd end up paying for them anyway, but it was worth it if that was what Chris needed to feel better.

Finally having run out of ammunition, Chris dropped to his knees beside the bed and leaned his head against the mattress. Chris's harsh rapid breathing was the only sound in the room. After a minute, he remembered Shawn and raised his head to locate him. Finding him leaning against the wall, he looked at him waiting for some kind of reaction to the destruction.

Shawn graced him with a smile. Chris couldn't stop himself from asking, "So, was it as good for you as it was for me?"

Shawn scratched his head and replied, "Hey, I finally got to witness one of the legendary fits of Jericho. I'm suitably impressed."

After another minute of silence he heard Chris whisper, "Sorry. I'll pay for the damages."

"Don't worry about it. If you hadn't done it, I'd probably have gotten around to doing it myself." Both men laughed. They started trying to set the room to rights. Well as right as they could get it.

Chris was setting the table on its legs and Shawn was putting pieces of the broken lamp in the trash when Chris finally asked, "Shawn? What did you mean when you said he knew it was going to hurt you?"

Shawn let out a bitter laugh. "Haven't you figured it out yet? The person I was interested in when I came back, the one Hunter was trying to keep me away from? Who else could have been special enough to get the attention of the Heartbreak Kid, but the King of the World?

Read Chapter Four of Undelivered