Beauty and the Beast |Dean Ambrose/The Shield|

|56| - Elimination Chamber.

Erica's POV 

The day had finally come. Today I was kicking Maryse's ass all over that ring. It was Elimination Chamber. Naturally, all day people had been asking me if I was nervous, if I was scared, blah blah blah. The answer was no, I wasn't scared. I wasn't nervous. I was just fine. I get that everyone expects me to be worrying about the fact that I'm going to be going up against the longest reigning Diva's champion of all time, but I wasn't. Maryse was good, damn she was extremely good. But, she hadn't been up against me. I didn't know where this surge of confidence had come from. Maybe, it was because I spent a lot of time with The Shield, and their ego's were rubbing off on me. Either way, I knew that tonight I wasn't going to lose. Because, I couldn't let myself lose. I had beat AJ, I had beat Kaitlyn and I had beat Brie. Maryse was just going to be the next one added to that list. I was more excited about the fact I had some new ring attire's that I could wear over the next few weeks. Tonight's attire was all about pink. A simple pink boob tube tank top, which had a plaid pattern around the edges. A pair of pink hot pants, also with a plaid edge and a large E on the waist band. As well as some knee length cover ups. They were basically like knee-length leg warmers, which let my pink sneakers peek out of. The added touch to my 'sweet girl' gimmick, was a simple head band. I liked being the 'sweet' and 'simple' girl.  It was fun. A lot of people saw me as the girl next door. I liked being the girl everyone loved. Ego boost, I know. I'd decided to head  to the arena on my own, I wanted some me time before I was pestered by everyone. I wanted to get my head through what was happening tonight. I needed to get my head in the game and see how I was going to go at this match. Maryse had never been in the ring with me. I had never been in the ring with her. Of course, I'd studied to her. I wasn't going to head into this match like an idiot. I wasn't the rookie that everyone thought I was. I reached the arena and parked my car, before grabbing my bag and title. I had no idea what number my match was tonight. Sometimes they cut matches out, if they don't think there is going to be enough time for them. I was just praying that my match didn't get cut. I wanted to get my hands on Maryse, oh so very badly. I headed into the arena and was met by Dolph. 

'Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?' His voice was soft and his expression was conflicted. I let out a sigh before answering him. After all, Dolph had tried to stop Bray from taking me. He'd failed miserably, but it was the thought that counted. 

'You've got five minutes' Dolph nodded, and led me back out into the parking lot so we could have some privacy.  I placed my bag down and leaned against the wall, holding onto my title. Dolph looked at me, before he ran a hand through his ridiculously bleached blonde hair. 

'I just wanted to apologize for everything. I know there is no way I'm going to be able to talk to Ashley. I know she hates me more than anything-' 

'Do you blame her?' I cut him off. Dolph let out a sigh and shook his head. 

'I made a mistake. I made a huge mistake. I was jealous, I'll admit it. I hated the fact she'd picked Dean and not me. I shouldn't have said all those things, I shouldn't have teamed up with AJ and I shouldn't have aired that footage' My face hardened at this. Dolph saw the change in my expression. 

'I really am sorry Erica. I know I could have screwed up yours and Seth's relationship, and that was never my intention. I let my jealously get the better of me. I am sorry' He sounded so sincere. It was wrote all over his face. Emotions get the best of us and I knew that. Hell, Ashley was a prime example of that. I let out a long sigh. 

'Look, I'm not forgiving you for anything. But, I do see your point. There is no way on earth Ashley is going to talk to you. You're lucky that she has Skylar to deal with and The Shield have The Wyatt's to deal with, or they would have seriously beat you down' I informed Dolph. He just stared at me.