The time was five thirty in the morning, I hauled myself up out of the bed and drowsily headed into the bathroom. That's when realisation had hit me, we were travelling to get to the arena for Raw tonight and of course, here I am not even remotely dressed for going out in public, proceeding to be as late as ever. I mean Brie and Daniel didn't even wake me up, no knocking on my room door, no yelling through the door - simply nothing.
I mean we usually do set out for the arena rather early so we can squeeze in some practice and sort out other business related things. I got lost in my thoughts but I was suddenly knocked back into reality as I tried to put on my jeans and somehow managed to fall through the bathroom door - because who needs locks. This incident changed everything, I was now wide awake unlike before. I quickly changed into the rest of my clothes for the day, stumbling around the room still. A knock sounded on the door to my room, I headed over and swung it open by the handle to see Brie and Daniel standing there, suitcases in hand.
"Have you even packed?" Brie tilted her head peering into my room a little more, knowing I had forgotten to do so I slapped my hand against my forehead letting out a groan.
I didn't bother to answer Brie's question so I rapidly ran over toward my bed, hauling my suitcase up on top of it then throwing in all of the contents that had spilled out of it. I had trouble closing my suitcase so I retorted to sitting on it while trying to forcefully make it close. Eventually it did.
"Well i'm all ready to go now." I sounded out of breath as I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. Brie and Daniel both laughed causing my eyebrow to raise slightly.
"You can wrestle yet you're out of breath whilst packing a suitcase? Well that's definitely a first." Daniel crossed his arms, a smile playing across his face. I didn't reply for a short amount of time but I could feel both Daniel and Brie's eyes burning into the back of me.
"You can wrestle yet you're out of breath whilst packing a suitcase? Well that's definitely a first." I mocked, whispering to myself. I heard Daniel laugh which caused my eyes to roll. They were most definitely acting like parents more than the friends I knew right now.
I sent a glare in Daniel's direction, almost instantly receiving one back which made my lips curl upward. I turned my attention back to my suitcase and began hauling it out of the room along with Brie and Daniel, surprisingly I found myself packed and ready quicker than what I had assumed. We journeyed down to the front desk to hand in our room keys, eventually we left the hotel and traveled to the arena in the car that had been waiting for us. Everything that was supposed to happen later tonight was right at the back of my mind, I hadn't thought about it for the majority of the day. I spent the day out with Nikki and Brie, we eventually had met up with AJ and went out for lunch. The whole drama with The Shield hadn't bugged me which I found as a surprise considering it wasn't exactly as if myself and Dolph were going to have a friendly match with them later on tonight.
Upon entering the arena my eyes instantly shifted to Dolph and Punk who were standing, clearly conversing with one another. I looked at Daniel and Brie then back at Dolph and Punk, I repeated this for a few times before finally throwing my suitcase toward Daniel, his expression changing to a more confused state. I ran, picking up speed as I made my way over to both Dolph and Punk. Before I knew it, I was quite literally leaping toward them, jumping up and crashing into both of them. I crashed into both of them harshly, falling back down onto the floor as soon as our bodies connected.
"You're supposed to catch me you know." I sat on the floor, rubbing the side of my head whilst both men laughed.
"You really shouldn't be attempting to fly around here, it's dangerous for someone of your height Alix." Punk and Dolph laughed, Dolph clearly finding it extremely funny considering he changed his motion to clutch his stomach.
"We may have a three on two handicapped Ziggler, but I have no problem kicking your ass too." The change in my tone seemed to startle him, causing laughter to escape my lips. I felt two hands grip onto both of my arms, hoisting me up from the ground.
I dusted myself off as I heard quick footsteps behind me. I turned my head back slightly, seeing both Daniel and Brie rushing with a quick pace to get to where myself, Dolph and Punk were standing. Daniel was laughing to himself and I could tell Brie was trying her best to hold it back, but in reality it really wasn't working. Brie patted my back whilst Daniel continued to laugh along with Dolph and Punk - talk about contagious.
"You have a match in a couple of hours and you're no where near ready, you haven't even been to makeup yet - this isn't the time for testing out your really bad flying skills." Brie sighed, slapping her hand against her forehead. She gently took me by the arm, dragging me toward the Women's locker room. I could see Daniel, Punk and Dolph finding this rather amusing, I stuck my tongue out and proceeded to flip them off before they were soon out of sight.
"I never even got to say bye or good luck." I pouted, crossing my arms as Brie shook her head.
"You have more things to worry about than saying 'bye' or 'good luck'." Brie mocked, my eyebrows becoming a little furrowed at her actions.
"But Brie-" I started but I was soon cut off by her.
"No but's. You're facing The Shield, Alix! Why aren't you nervous? Why are you so chilled out about this sort of thing? This isn't something to relax over! You could get seriously hurt and-" I held my hand up in front of her face, she stopped talking for a few seconds which allowed me to say my part of the situation.
"You're the one that needs to relax Brie. I understand you're concerned for me, trust me I really do. But I need to settle this with The Shield on my own. I'm not worried because I simply believe myself and Dolph have a chance to beat them. They've knocked me down time and time again but this time it will be different, I assure you." I placed my hand on her shoulder, her facial expression softening as I spoke. I could tell she still didn't believe me and that her concern levels were soaring high.
"It's not only them you have to worry about. You have the entire Authority to worry about. Stephanie, Hunter and not to forget Randy. I just want you to be aware, I want you to stay alert. They could come out at any point during the match and they'll make sure that yourself and Dolph loose at any circumstance. I'm just worried for you, that's all. Especially since that night where you slapped Hunter." Brie began to rest her head on the palm of her hand, her eyes becoming watery and very nerve filled.
"I understand that, but we'll handle it. We've beaten them once, we can do it again. I won't stop until they're all out of power for good, they're destroying us mentally and physically and that's not gonna stop until they're out of power. I understand your concern and worry but I have to do this. Not just for myself and Dolph but for everyone on the roster. Including you and Daniel." I stood up and walked into one of the changing areas before another word could escape Brie's lips.
I decided to go with a change of attire. I was no longer the golden girl of The Authority, I was no longer that innocent sweet darling. I was no longer having to live under my mother's strict rules of how I should dress. I was a new person, I was the person that was going to stop the authority for good. I had to do everything I could, I had to go out there with my game face on. I couldn't loose. Not to The Shield and certainly not to my biological parents. I took a look at myself in one of the mirrors, dusting off my black shorts and running a hand through my hair before sighing. This was it. In a few hours I was going against the most dominant faction in WWE at the moment. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared deep down inside. Truthfully, I was slightly scared, my career could possibly come to an end before it's even started. But I made a promise to everyone and a promise to myself that i'd get rid of The Authority.
I stepped out back into the front of the locker room where everyone's heads quickly turned. Brie and Nikki sat with their mouths hanging open whilst AJ slowly made her way over to me, checking out my new attire. I have to admit, it was a little awkward being silently stared at by everyone, but I suppose I was literally asking for it by changing everything about my attire.
"You look so good, Alix. I didn't even recognize you!" Nikki spoke, excitement seeping through in her tone of voice. She squealed with delight as she walked closer to me along with Brie. Cameron and Naomi walked into the locker room with Natalya and they almost instantly stopped in their tracks.
"So who are you trying to impress?" Naomi giggled as did I, Natalya pulled me into a quick hug before releasing again. She tilted her head, a smile playing across her lips.
"Just watch yourself out there, you may or may not distract The Shield by what you're wearing." She ruffled my hair as I allowed a squeal to escape from my lips. I couldn't help but mentally laugh at her comment. If this was considered a distraction then I was certainly down for it.
I heard a loud knock on the locker room door, it definitely wasn't another diva by the force of the knock. I toddled over toward the locker room door, throwing it open as I turned the knob. As the door opened, Punk was revealed to be standing there. I waved back toward all of the women behind me, stepping out of the locker room.
"Well you look.. different. Where's my little barbie gone?" Punk spoke, creating fake sadness in his tone as he pouted his lips.
"Still here at heart, but a change was definitely necessary." I took in a deep breath and smiled up at Punk.
"Is Dolph with you? I've been looking for him everywhere to wish him good luck but I can't seem to find him." Punk questioned, rubbing the back of his neck. A puzzled look appeared on my face as it was unlike Dolph to suddenly 'dissapear'.
"I haven't seen him anywhere.. I'm sure he's..-" I stopped in the middle of my words as I saw Dolph head down the hallway, his motions somewhat jittery.
"Dolph?" I spoke, walking over toward him. He seemed to jump slightly at the sound of my voice but then he became more relaxed.
"Are you okay? You seem a little off.." I tilted my head as Dolph let out a small chuckle, ruffling my hair.
"As good as ever. Why do you ask?" He replied however his tone didn't come across as very convincing.
"It's just that we have a match and you don't seem like yourself." I rubbed my chin as Dolph continued to shake his head with laughter escaping his lips at very random moments.
"Uh, anyway. You look different." Dolph quickly switched the topic, causing my eyebrow to raise in a slightly concerned manner.
I went along with the change of topic anyways as I didn't want Dolph to become all uptight and frustrated before our match against The Shield. "Yeah uh, I just thought a little change was necessary, y'know."
"Well let's hope that change was necessary to help us win tonight, kiddo." I placed my hands on my hips, a smirk forming across my pale lips. If only Dolph knew how badly I wanted to beat the crap out of all three of those self proclaimed 'Hounds Of Justice'.
"Ready as I'll ever be Ziggler." We fist bumped, exchanging dark grins before making our way towards the gorilla position. Punk ruffling my hair before we had left really did irritate me, yet I found it amusing.
This was it. This was our time to show everybody that we could beat The Authority once again. We were finally getting a chance.