"I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel. I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real." - Johnny Cash
After what happened, I couldn't really look, or talk to Dean. He was leaning against the wall the whole time, heard everything, but I only realized it when I stood up to leave. Our way back to the hotel was filled with silence, while I laid my head on AJ's shoulder and Seth held my hand, the only thing we could hear was Don't Fear the Reaper, by Blue Oyster Cult.
Dean had finally got exactly what he always wanted: he hurt me. I've always wanted The Shield to be everything that people thought we were: united, and a family. Of course, me, Seth and Roman were a family, and Dean considered the both of them as well, but... Why couldn't he just fucking tell me what I did wrong and then we could work it all out and carry on? It just wouldn't get into my head why he was such a jerk to me.
As soon as we arrived the hotel, I said goodnight to Seth and Roman, and told AJ I'd see Stephen and then I'd be back. So I walked to his room, took a deep breath and knocked on his door. He sighed as he opened it, a bottle of Jack in hand.
"I... Can I come in?" I asked.
"You don't really need to ask." He gave me a weak smile and stepped aside, so I walked in and sat down on his bed.
"I'm fucked up." I sighed.
"Why do you say that?" He asked, kneeling down in front of me and taking my hand.
"Don't pretend like you're not mad because I can see you are. Sorry about what happened earlier. Sorry about everything that happened."
"It's... This is not the whole reason why I'm upset." He sighed, before taking another sip or his whiskey.
"What else did I do?"
He chuckled and placed a kiss on my forehead. "You did nothing." He took a deep breath and looked down, then looked at me again. "Drew got fired."
"W-what?"
"He and a bunch of other people."
"I... I'm sorry. I know he's your best friend and all..."
"He'll be fine. He'll go back to England and there's plenty other companies that want him. I just... What if it was me? Or you? It could be anyone. This business isn't fair."
"It could never be you. Do you really think they'd fire you? Then you're crazy. It never been fair, but Drew wasn't really in a good place with the company."
"What do you mean? Oh. That stuff with Taryn years ago."
"Vince never forgets anything. Everything is business. You do something wrong here, he does something when you less expect. Believe me, I grew up hearing him and my dad talk."
"It must have been fun." He said, obviously sarcastically.
"Yeah" I shrugged. "I used to give Vince ideas when I was a teen. He'd just listen because he was my dad's friend, of course, and I was a fan. But... I think sometimes he saved some of my dumb ideas."
"You shitting me?" He arched an eyebrow. "You helped with storylines when you were a teen?"
"I wouldn't say I 'helped'. I just talked for hours about what I liked or disliked and what I'd change if I could." I shrugged. "Just like any other fan."
"I'd love to switch places with you." He chuckled.
"It would cost you not having a decent mother." I laid down.
"You never told me about your mother."
"Well... I never been the girl she wanted me to be." I sighed. "I was more the daddy's little tomboy. She hated it. To make things short, she divorced my dad and moved out. Now she's living in Italy and she barely knows how am I."
"I'm sorry..."
"She just invited me to her wedding. She just... She didn't even ask if I was okay. And when I said I couldn't go, she said I don't love her." I took a deep breath, realizing I was just dumping all that stuff over him.
"I think Vince wouldn't mind if you asked for a few days off."
"He wouldn't. I would. I just don't feel any type of connection to her. She left, never looked back. And, I mean, that'll just be another divorce. There'll be another wedding I can attend. I wasn't even invited to the last one, so I don't know what's so important this time."
"She's your mother."
"And I'm her daughter. She could, at least, know what is happening with me. With job. Vince once gave me a shot for the belt on FCW. I was training for like 6 months, and she was still here. Did she even see my match? Nope. She was too busy. Getting a new hairstyle." I rolled my eyes. It was true, she didn't even think about attending. It was just a silly match, Vince indulging me, but still meant something to me.
"You got a shot for the belt on fucking FCW, that early?"
"Wasn't a big thing. They knew I wouldn't win, anyway."
"But you got it." He chuckled, surprised.
"Only because Vince's almost like my godfather. Did you know he was the first person to hold me as a baby, after my parents?" I chuckled, and he shook his head no. I shrugged. "It was just something dumb to make me happy."
"You know, you could get a shot for the Diva's belt if you asked him." He raised his eyebrows, and I nodded yes.
"Yeah, we talked about it. He wanted me to turn on AJ, but I didn't really want to do it like that. I'm next in line after whoever wins next, tho."
"Then you'll be the Divas Champ. And I could get a shot to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, uh? The power couple."
"If the Shield disbands before that, I don't see why not." I chuckled. "Hey... I feel like we should talk about what happened."
Stephen took a deep breath and laid down beside me, turning on his side to look at me. "Alright."
"You don't have to worry about Dean provoking you all the time. He said me and he... We're not a family, so we don't really have anything besides business. I'm not even talking to him."
"Are you okay with that?"
"Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm kinda hurt because I did hope he'd end up accepting that we are partners and we could get the best of it, but what's the use of trying when he doesn't want that?"
"Dean is a complicated man, maybe it's better this way."
"I know." I smiled.
He smiled back at me and then kissed me.
"I better go to sleep. AJ is waiting." I took a deep breath, so he nodded.
"Alright." He sat up as well and hugged me. "I love you."
"I love you too." I smiled, before standing up. "Well, goodnight, then."
"Goodnight."
After flashing a last smile at him, I closed the door and went back to my room. AJ was already sleeping, so I took a shower and sat on the edge of my bed. I still felt like there was something wrong, but I didn't know what.
So I took a deep breath and laid down with AJ. When she felt me next to her, she wrapped her arms around me, and I smiled, cuddling her, and slowly falling asleep.
-x-x-x-
Time went by so fucking fast, that when we realized, it was already Extreme Rules. We all thought that they would lose to Evolution, but God know's why, we were scheduled to win. We all partied all night long. Well, me and Dean were still the same, barely looking at each other, but at that point, I didn't really care, actually. And, well, me and Stephen didn't have a single argument after that day, which was awesome.
Next Raw after pay per view, The Shield, AJ and Sheamus were called to Hunter's office, which was weird.
"So, I have two things for you guys." Hunter said. "Colby, Joe and AJ will be on Main Event this week. You'll be traveling tomorrow morning."
"But what about Smackdown?" AJ asked.
"Jon and Lacey will represent you guys tomorrow." He looked at me and Dean and we nodded.
"And me?" Stephen asked.
"We'll have a 20-man battle royal for Dean's belt tonight. Everyone's warned, you two will remain to the end."
"My belt?" Dean asked. "But..."
"It's part of the storyline with The Authority. There are no winners scheduled, so we'll see by the end of the match. Alright?"
"Sure." Dean nodded.
"That's all?" I asked.
"Yes, that's all. You all can leave." He said. "Oh, actually, Lacey, you stay, please."
Me and AJ exchanged glances, and they left. I sat back down and smiled. "Anything wrong?"
"I heard what happened between you and that girl, Dolph's friend."
"Oh, that." I sighed.
"No need to worry, they told me everything that happened. I just wanted to tell you to be careful with these things."
"I know, Hunter, I know I can't be getting into these kind of fights but she got on my nerves. I was just joking around with Dolph and she just got angry.."
"You know that if you have any problems, you can talk to us. Vince will kill me if anything happens to you inside his company."
"I will." I smiled.
"Well, then you can go." He smiled. "Have a nice show."
"See you out there." I chuckled. "Thanks, Hunter."
He smiled back and I left his office, the guys were waiting outside.
"What happened?" AJ asked.
"Nothing, he just told me to tell him if I had any more problems with that ring rat. Someone told him about what happened." I sighed. "Let's go, uh? We have stuff to do." I winked.
AJ didn't really have a match that night, so she'd be backstage cheering for the match. I didn't know who I'd cheer for, because even if Dean was a part of The Shield... He hurt me.
We were at the gorilla, Dean by one side, and Stephen by the other. Everything seemed fine, we were talking about the match, when suddenly, the lights in the whole arena went out, and I didn't know why the fuck, but I grabbed Dean's arm.
"Fuck! We're live!" I heard someone yelling.
I couldn't see anything, but my eyes were wide open, heart racing. Outside the fans yelled. Dean didn't move.
Just like it went out, the lights went back on and I quickly let go off of Dean's arm, realizing what I was doing. I hoped I was quick enough, but I still caught a smirk from Seth.
"C'mon, guys! 20-man right now!" The staff yelled.
"Okay, let's go." I nodded.
"You're coming?" Dean asked.
"But of course I am." I shrugged, before placing a soft kiss on Stephen's lip. "Good luck." I smiled. "See you in a while." I winked at AJ.
"Who are you cheering for?" Roman asked, as we made our way to the entrance.
"Dean." I said.
"Me?" He arched an eyebrow.
"You might not be my brother, but you're still my partner." I replied, not even looking at him. "And I'm still a part of this team."
"But he's your boyfriend."
"Shut up, this is the last fucking belt we got." I sighed. Our theme song hit and I took a deep breath. "Let's go."
After our entrance, I went to the center of the ring with Dean, while Seth and Roman were still in the apron. Dean put his arm around me, bringing me closer as the other superstars made their own entrances. For a moment, I thought his heart was racing, but then again, he'd wrestle for his belt tonight... It probably felt weird to think he might lose.
But then Stephen made his entrance, and I could see hate in his eyes when Dean kissed my forehead. It would get personal. Again.
The 20 men were there, so I hugged him and then cupped his cheeks, making him look at me. "You're our last champ, alright? You can do it."
"Don't worry." He hugged me again, before smiling and kissing my cheek. He led me to Seth, and he helped me getting out of the ring.
"He's got this." Roman nodded, patting Seth's back.
One by one, the guys were being eliminated, and just like Hunter told us, Dean and Sheamus were left.
"Come on." I said, approaching the apron and punching the mat. Stephen was getting the best out of Dean. I would really be happy if he won, but... Dean was my partner, man. "Come on!" I yelled. "Go for his legs, Dean! His legs!"
Dean looked at me for a few seconds, and then nodded. He kicked the back of Sheamus' knee and he fell to the floor. Stephen stared at me in anger, and I stepped back.
"Go, Dean!" Seth yelled.
I looked at Seth to smile, 'cause deep inside I knew Dean could win, but as I wrapped my arms around Seth's, and then looked back at the match... I just... Sheamus was pinning Dean down and my heart stopped and dropped down to my stomach when I heard his theme song. The world simply stopped. "No..." I mumbled. "No!" I climbed the ring and rushed to Dean's side. He was down on the mat, and I knelt beside him. Seth and Roman followed, and they helped me get Dean out of the ring.
He had one arm over my shoulder, and the other one around Roman's. He leaned his head, moving his face get closer to my ear. "I'm sorry." He whispered, and I looked up at him.
"It's okay." I whispered back, nodding. "It's okay." I repeated, looking back at Stephen, holding the belt up in the air and smirking. "Let's get out of here." I said.
--
So, it's been a while since I last updated so last week I gave two chapters, yay!
I know Dean is kind of an asshole, but I was actually hoping he'd win lol well, I had to make this happen so we could carry on with the story ;) (writer's issues lol)
Hope y'all like it, please don't forget to vote and comment (:
{originally published jul 13, 2016}