Yes, WWE was my dream job. But no, I wasn't excited about coming in to work. I had completely embarrassed myself at the club and I dug myself deeper into a grave with Joe. Everything that could have gone wrong last night went wrong and it was all my fault. I should have never danced with Colby, I should have never been at the club in the first place. I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings and I didn't want to give the wrong impression, but I hadn't done a very good job at it.
But no matter what I was feeling at the moment, I had to push it to the side and be a professional. I was having my first match on RAW and I couldn't screw this up. There were thousands of women who wished they were in my position right now and the least I could do was keep my head in the game. I spent all day avoiding everyone and stressing over what happened, but I was going to have to walk out there like I was the most confident girl in the world. I was going to act like everything was fine, even though it wasn't. And I was going to do it with a smile on my face.
"This tag team match is scheduled for one fall. Making their way to the ring, the Bella Twins!" the announcer, Jillian Garcia, said as the twins strutted down the ramp with fire behind their eyes.
I tried to focus on the task in front of me. I had to get the crowd interested to some degree. If I didn't do well, my ass was on the chopping block. I prepared for the match but I started contemplating everything that could go wrong.
Looking over at AJ, she gave me a warm smile before kissing my hand that she was holding. "You'll do great," she said, transferring her positive energy onto me.
I smiled back at her before I heard Jillian begin announcing again. "And their opponents, the team of Crystal Rose and the Divas' Champion, Aj Lee!" I knew I couldn't turn back now.
AJ's music rang throughout the arena and the crowd erupted into cheers and some muffled boos. I fantasized about what it would be like to get as emotional of a response from the crowd as she did. She was quite a polarizing figure who was into comic books and video games, and was borderline crazy. Or maybe it wasn't that she was crazy, but that she was insanely good at manipulating the competition.
I skipped out alongside my best friend with a sinister smile on my face. We took hands at the top of the ramp before AJ held her title in the air, showcasing it for the world to see. I genuinely smiled in her direction, proud of her for everything she'd accomplished in such a short period of time and happy to be sharing the spotlight with her.
AJ kissed my hand before letting it go and skipping around the perimeter of the ring. Meanwhile, I jumped onto the apron and onto the middle turnbuckle. AJ came up the stairs to stand beside me before she bent between the ropes and entered the ring. I quickly hopped off, coming down on the solid, white mat. AJ flaunted her championship in Brie and Nikki's face while they both scowled in the corner. The referee tapped AJ's shoulder, warning her that it was time to begin the match. Each side took a few moments to choose someone to start.
"You just stand there and look pretty, I've got this" AJ whispered.
I backed away, eying Nikki who would also be waiting on the apron while Brie started things off. My hand nervously toyed with the white string apart of the turnbuckle. My hand was probably going to turn red from gripping it so hard but I didn't care.
The bell rang and Brie and AJ started the match by sticking their hands out toward each other to test the waters. AJ quickly got the upper hand, twisting Brie's hand behind her back. Brie stomped her feet and twisted in discomfort before using her height advantage to reverse the hold. The two grappled with each other for several moments to warm up the crowd. One second, AJ had Brie in a headlock, the next Brie had AJ's arm behind her back. Brie went to swing at AJ but she was able to duck under and caught Brie with a slap to the face.
"I'm the champ! Not you, do you understand?" AJ screamed before kicking Brie in the stomach.
Brie fell to a knee and AJ hit back against the ropes before landing a shining wizard. She went for the cover but Brie kicked out at two. AJ carried on with the advantage as I shouted encouragement from the sideline.
While Brie was laid out in the ring, AJ strolled over to Nikki to taunt her. "Your sister's pathetic!"
AJ tried to catch her with a forearm to the face but Nikki ducked out of the way just in time. Nikki tried to force her way through the ropes but the referee separated the two just in time. Brie took advantage of the distraction and rolled AJ onto her back and pinned her shoulders for a count of two. AJ made it back to her feet but Brie overpowered her and whipped her into their corner. Brie began to ruthlessly stomp on AJ before tagging Nikki into the match.
Saving AJ from any more double-teaming, I jumped off the apron and ran toward the Bellas' corner of the ring. Brie was standing on the apron when I grabbed ahold of her leg and yanked her down. I didn't give her any time to recover before I sent her back first onto the side of the ring. I smiled as she winced in pain. While she was struggling to regain her footing, I took her by the tights and hair and threw her against the barricade as hard as I could.
"Brie!" Nikki shouted from the ring, concerned for her sister who hit the ground hard.
Off the distraction, AJ kicked Nikki in the back of her knees. AJ had the opening to make the tag. I ran back to our corner just in time for her to tag me into the match. With Brie out, I could focus on Nikki alone. I hit the ropes before coming back and landing a kick to the side of her back. I hit the opposite end of the ropes to propel me into a front flip as I gripped Nikki's head in my arms. I went for the cover but she kicked out a two.
Nikki managed to kick out but she was still in a daze. I knew I had the perfect chance to put her away. Standing her up in the center of the ring, I hooked her arms with mine and muscled her body into the air, Nikki horizontal. As she was coming down, to add more force, I jumped and we both came crashing down. She face-planted onto the mat while I landed in a straddle.
"She calls that move Smell the Roses," I heard Michael Cole excitedly say.
I rolled her into a cover, hooking her left leg in my hands. I purposely let my hair fall against her face as the referee counted.
"One, two, three!"
The fans in the arena cheered and applauded as AJ's music sounded and vibrated throughout the arena. AJ slid into the ring, jumped into my arms, and kissed me on the cheek. I won my first WWE match on Monday Night RAW and I couldn't believe it. What world was I living in? How was this real life?
Once getting backstage and away from the cameras, I noticed my adrenaline slowly coming down. It wasn't a long match but I made it through without any mishaps. I did what I was supposed to do and got out of there. I got a thumbs-up from Vince McMahon as I walked over to him.
"Great job out there. I think the fans will love you," he told me.
"Thank you so much for the opportunity."
He waved at hand at me and I let him get back to work monitoring the show.
"You fucking killed it, oh my gosh!" AJ exclaimed, aggressively poking at my sides.
"Thanks champ," I said.
We hugged for what had to be the thousandth time that day before we saw The Bellas approach. AJ and the twins weren't what you called friends but they remained cordial when it came to their work. I'd be lying if I said them walking up to us didn't make me nervous. I didn't know what to expect now that the match was over.
"You were awesome out there girl," Brie said.
"Yes, and congratulations on your first match," Nikki followed, pulling me into a tight hug before I had any time to react.
"Thank you, thank you," I said before meeting Brie in a tight embrace.
The Bellas waved at AJ before walking off. AJ and I followed them out into the hallway and headed off to the locker room to shower.
I was walking through the halls after my shower, alone. AJ was off with her boyfriend and I hadn't made many friends yet. I decided to stop at catering but quickly realized that that was a mistake. Over in the corner, across from the door, was Danielle playfully running her hand up and down Joe's tattooed arm. The way she was laughing and the way he was laughing back had my stomach in more knots than before my match earlier. I wondered what they could possibly be talking about that was so fucking funny.
No longer hungry, I made my way from catering. A couple of people congratulated me on my match including Joe's other best friend, Jonathan. I felt bad for giving them all the same response, a half heart "thank you." However, I wasn't too happy after seeing Joe with Danielle. She wasn't even his type, it didn't make sense.
"Hey, hey, you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost."
AJ had passed by me wearing her boyfriend's hoodie with their hands interlocked with. Phillip looked concerned too but didn't say anything.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I had gotten so used to saying it that it became an automatic response. Plus I couldn't open up to her about things, not here, not now.
She shook her head with a frown and looked around for anyone that might've upset me. But when she found nothing, she looked at me again. Without saying another word, I dragged myself off in search of the locker room. I half expected her to follow me, but thankfully she didn't. I just needed to think and figure out how to fix things with Joe before it was too late. I couldn't be okay with us not being on the same page. I couldn't ignore him like I'd done the past couple of years now that we worked under the same buildings. I had to set us right again, I just didn't know how.