Ava's POV
I stood in the room, still staring at the ring.
Was he really going to propose?
"You know, you would have been an amazing bride."
I whipped my head around and Aj stood there with a saddened look.
Oh shit. I forgot about her. I miscounted. Dammit.
I stared at the ring then back at her.
"You knew that he was going to propose, didn't you?" I questioned.
Aj nodded in response. "Mom, Dad, and Vivianna knew. Not just me."
"When? How? I'm so confused." I said.
Aj sighed. "Remember that day Mom, Vivi, Isa, you, and I went to that Bridal Shop?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I remember."
"Where was Dean going?"
"He said he was going out with the guys and Punk to get stuff for the wedding." I responded.
"Yeah, he lied. Yes, Dean was out with Punk, but not to get stuff for the wedding." Aj explained.
"Then where were they going?"
"Dean needed help to choose an engagement ring. For you. That's why he asked you about marriage." Aj said crossing her arms.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I said raising my voice.
"And what? Ruin the surprise?" She said raising an eyebrow.
"You could've warned me. Or give me hints!" I said throwing my arms up.
"I have!" Aj shot.
I sighed and ran my hand through my hair.
"Ava, the only person you should be blaming is yourself."
I looked up and gave her a look. "Blame myself? It's your fault, Aj. You could've warned me!"
"It's not my fault, Ava. You should've thought about Dean. You should've put him first instead of thinking of yourself. The blood is on your hands." Aj said.
I looked at her then back at the ring. I shook my head then stormed out of the room.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Aj yelled following me.
"Where do you think?" I said not turning around. "I'm going to talk to Dean."
"Ava you can't." Aj said catching up to me.
"And why not?" I questioned quickening my pace.
There was a short pause of silence.
"You can't just go up to him,out of the blue and talk to him about the ring." Aj said hesitantly.
She hesitated. Something's up.
"Well, maybe I wouldn't be doing this if you had told me in the first place."
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have betrayed us. And maybe you would have been engaged to the man of your dreams now, instead of chasing after him."
I turned around sending a glare to my sister. "I already told you! I did this for you guys! I did this to stop the torture. I can't see you guys get hammered every week."
"We still would have gotten through it!" Aj yelled, "We are a team, Ava. We do things together. You should have came to us before doing your own thing. I get it. You wanted to help us, but that doesn't change the fact that you betrayed us. You sold out to The Authority! And for what? More TV time? Another Championship reign? Well guess what. I'm still champion Ava. And there is no way in hell that you'll be getting this now."
I scoffed. "Why are you even bringing this up? This isn't about the Championship. But quite frankly, I could take that away from you like that," I said snapping my fingers.
I continued. "But that's not the point. My point is that I am going to talk to Dean. You can try to stop me, but that won't do you any good." I turned my back on Aj and walked away.
"You're right." She called. I turned around and looked at her.
"What?" I asked.
Aj shrugged, "You're right. I can't stop you. But all I can tell you is that, even if you do talk to Dean, it won't change anything. You turned your back on him. Not Seth, not Roman, not me, not Isa, not Leighla. No. It was Dean. You can try to talk to him all you want, and he might forgive you. But that won't change anything. You broke his heart. Ava, he loved you! Dean cared about you! You heard him yourself. You were the one person he cared about. You're the person he loved. He had so many dreams for you and him. You know, happy endings. And I know you had dreams too. But you threw that all away when you betrayed Dean. So, yeah go ahead and show him the ring. If you're trying to get back with him, the ring won't do anything. It's going to take a lot more to get him back. Trust me."
I watched as Aj walked away from me, get head down. I looked at the ring, then back at Aj.
"Aj, wait." I called. She turned around, giving me a bored look.
I sighed and put the engagement ring back into the box. I looked at it one last time before tossing it to Aj. She caught it but looked at me with confusion.
"Put it back on the bench." I said simply. "This never happened."
I continued my way to the Diva's Locker room. Aj had a point. The ring won't do me any good. I had to talk to Dean, one on one, without the ring. I changed my route, and decided to talk to Dean. I found him--well all of them-- at catering.
I hesitantly walked over to their table, almost immediately earning a glare from Isa. Everyone looked up at me-- Everyone except Dean.
"Umm, Dean can I talk to you...alone?" I said nervously.
He looked up at me, finally. Then nodded.
"Great." I said under my breath. He stood up and I lead him down the hall and opened the door to an empty locker room.
"Is this okay?" I asked gesturing to the room.
"Yeah it's fine." Dean muttered.
I nodded then walked in, as Dean followed, closing the door.
I gulped before sitting down. "So, um, how have you been?"
Dean shrugged, "I've been better."
"I found out about your necklace. You gave it back. " He said.
I looked up. "Oh,umm...yeah..I guess."
Alright Ava, woman up. You have to ask him about the ring. Tell him you overheard? Yeah, let's do that..
"Can I ask you a question?"
Dean shrugged, nodding his head.
Ok this is your chance..................No I can't.
"Do you wanna get back together?" I asked quietly.
"Are you being serious right now?" Dean said with a slight laugh.
"Well, since you're laughing, I'm not too sure.." I responded.
"Ava, you're a part of the Authority now." He said.
"That doesn't mean, we still can't be together. " I pointed out.
"Yes it does."
"Give me one good reason why." I said crossing my arms.
"Fine, but I'll give you two reasons." Dean said.
He continued. "One: I've hated the Authority since day one. Even if we were to get back together. They wouldn't welcome me with open arms. I hate their guts, they hate mine."
"Number two?" I asked blankly.
Dean sighed hesitantly. "Two...two...I already have a girlfriend."
"Nice excuse, Ambrose." I said shaking my head.
"Its not an excuse, Ava. I really do have a girlfriend." He said sincerely. I looked at him dead in the eye.
He had a girlfriend. He's already had a replacement for me.
I looked away and coughed. "Well, congratulations."
"Ava--"
"No, no. I'm fine..I'll, uhh, see you around." I said then quickly walked out the door. I sprinted to the Diva's Locker room and made my way to the back where my stuff were.
"Hey Ava. Are you okay?" Reby asked once she saw me.
"Yeah I'm fine." I said blinking away the tears that were forming in my eyes.
"Are--are you crying?" Nikki asked.
I wiped away the small tears. "No."
"Ava what happened?" Reby said.
"Nothing. Nothing happened." I insisted.
I stood up and grabbed my stuff. "I'm going to head back to the hotel. I'll give your shoes back tomorrow, Nikki."
I quickly walked out the door and walked out of the arena. I got to my rental and threw my stuff in the back. I sat down in the driver's seat and buckled up. I took a deep breath before letting all the tears flow down my face. I laid my head against the window and wiped away the tears.
First I find out about the engagement ring, then I find out about Dean's new girlfriend. What's next?
Why does everything have to be so complicated in my life?