Priceless Sensation

The next day, I was hoping on sleeping in with Ted and I thought I would, but there was a knock on the door which had woken me up. I groan and protest, not moving. I didn't know it, but something was slid under the door and I never heard the knocking again. Once the knocking stops, I fall right back to sleep. It's a couple hours before I wake back up and when I do, Ted's coming out of the bathroom and dressed.

"Going somewhere?" I ask.

"No, just felt like getting dressed."

"Oh, ok."

Then he looks over at the door and sees something laying on the floor. Curious, he walks over and picks it up, opening it and reading it.

"Looks like you and Riss are appearing on NXT tonight."

"Oh?"

"Mmhmm, apparently on top of the already planned challenge. You two are going to be a part of a surprise challenge." He says, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Sounds interesting."

"I'm coming with you."

"Sounds good to me." I smile.

"But since we probably wont have a locker room like we do on Raw, we may just have to 'act' like friends the entire night."

"Damn."

"Unless you and Justin pull off getting a locker room somehow."

"Hmm, I think we can work something out."

"You'd do anything for alone time."

"Yes I would."

"Now if you get up, we can go get breakfast." He adds.

I get up and gather my clothes for the day. Ted gives me a kiss as I pass him on my way to the bathroom. I leave the door cracked a bit and I change. After that I work on my hair and clearly Ted saw through the cracked door, because the door opened and he watches with a smile.

"Beautiful." He smiles.

"And I don't get to say that too often." He adds.

"Hopefully I will in the future." He finishes.

"Hopefully? Are you having doubts or something about it?"

"Not at all, its just I don't know how long this thing with Maryse will be. We've been lucky so far with how much time we have together. I'm just a little worried how you'll be if she starts taking up my time."

"I'm sure I'll manage. I won't like it, but I'll manage."

He nods and comes in to wrap his arms around me.

"You don't have to worry about anything, I'll be fine."

"Good."

"Let's just head to breakfast and not talk about this..."

"Sounds like a plan."

We leave the bathroom and grab what we need before heading out the door. I make sure no ones around before we both leave and then we head for the elevators, heading downstairs to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. We get to the restaurant and go through the buffet line before finding a nice spot to eat. We only got to talk and eat for a little while before SHE had to find us. I grit my teeth when I hear her voice.

"Ted, what are you doing?!"

"Eating..." He replies.

"With her?"

"She's my friend Maryse. I'm allowed to be around her and eat breakfast with her."\

"Well I don't like it." She huffs.

"Who asked for your opinion?" I snap.

Maryse does her hand motion in my face. I put my fork down before standing up, with not so pleased look on my face. I grab her hand and twist it.

"Do that again and I'm breaking it."

She starts ranting in French like always.

"Hey hey hey, listen!" I say, twisting her hand some more.

"You can take your fake hair, your fake nails, and your fake everything and step off. If Ted wanted you here, he would've invited you. Guess what blondie...he didn't. He's having breakfast with me, because he can't spend time with me as a friend with you around all the time. And I will break this hand if you don't leave and I don't care who sees."

She pulls her hand free and storms off.

"Oooh, she pisses me off." I huff, sitting back down.

"I know."

"I was seriously gonna break that hand of hers, but I decided against it. Only because she would want you to do everything for her, and I don't want to put you through that."

"Well thank you for thinking of me."

"I always think of you."

He smiles.

"I'm always thinking of you too."

I smile and calm down, getting back to my food. In the meantime with Riss and Justin, she's still in bed but Justin is awake. And after last night, he figured that she'd need another one of those baths so he went into the bathroom and started it already for her. She rolls over in her sleep and frowns involuntarily as she doesn't roll into anything. He lets the water run as he walks out of the bathroom. He glances over by the door and finds a piece of paper sitting there. He reads it and finds out she'll be on NXT with me later tonight. He puts the paper down on the night stand next to the bed and then tries to wake her up. She groans and rolls away.

"Karissa...I've got a bath running for you..."

She grumbles and hides.

"I'll carry you."

She still doesn't move. He goes back into the bathroom to shut the water off, before coming back and picking her up. She immediately latches onto him and lays her head against his heart. Then he carries her into the bathroom and over to the tub, gently placing her into the water. She scoots forward and waits for him. He smiles and steps into the water, sitting down behind her. She lays back in his arms and sighs.

"So there was a note for you this morning, slid under the door."

"Mmm? What for?" She asks lazily.

"NXT. Apparently you and Ariel are invited to appear, and on top of the scheduled challenge, there's a surprise challenge that you'll be a part of."

"Oh."

"Ugh, that means I have to be around McGillicutty." She makes a face.

Justin growls.

"He's not getting near you. I'm coming with you tonight."

She smiles and kisses his cheek.

"Of course you are."

"I knew you would be." She adds.

"Of course." He nods.

"I'm glad you are. The more time I get with you, the better."

"Right."

"I have no idea how I lasted so long without you." She murmurs, turning and curling up against him.

"You had Ariel to help."

"Mmm."

"And we kept in touch too."

"I know but it wasn't the same." She says, laying her head against his chest to hear his heartbeat.

"But we managed."

"Mmhmm."

"But now, we get to finally travel together."

"Which is amazing. I'm getting spoiled with all this time we're getting together."

"Because it's well overdue."

"Yes it is."

"And I love it."

"I know you do." She giggles.

"You'll continue to get spoiled with all the time we get together from here on out."

"Sounds good to me." She smiles.

"So what do you wanna do today?"

"Hmm...well breakfast is a good place to start."

"True."

"Lets wash up and get going. Even though this is really relaxing..."

"Right..."

"Getting hungry though." She giggles.

"Well let's get going then." He chuckles.

They wash up and get out, going into the room to get dressed. After getting dressed, she goes into the bathroom to do her normal morning routine. She decides to keep everything simple, leaving her hair down with just a flower clip by her ear and light makeup. After she was finished, she walks out of the bathroom. She rummages in her bag for the right shoes.

"You look gorgeous." Justin smiles.

"You always think so."

"Because it's true."

She laughs softly.

"Charmer."

"Only for you."

"I know."

Once she finds the right shoes, she puts those on.

"Ready." She declares.

He nods and they head out the door and down to breakfast. They walk into the breakfast area hand in hand, fingers laced together. She giggles as Justin says something in her ear. After going through the buffet line, they find a table and sit to eat. She laughs when Justin sits close and they steal food from each other. The moment however is interrupted because they hear someone clear their throat. They both look up.

"Ugh..." She says in disgust.

"You again?" She asks, rolling her eyes.

"Unfortunately." Justin mumbles.

She puts her hand on his thigh and squeezes gently to sooth him a bit.

"What do you want now? Another strike out?"

She hears snickers from a nearby table.

"This will be strike two."

"I won't strike out because I come from perfection. I am the best and I only want the best. You should be with me." McGillicutty says smugly.

"How about no. I'm happiest right where I am. I have been with this man for over a year and there is nothing you could do to change my mind about being with him."

"But he's not from perfection like I am."

"I could care less. I love him for who he is, regardless of where he's from. Besides, I've met his family and they're amazing so you can take your perfection and shove it."

The nearby snickering turns into full out laughter. She glances over and sees the rest of the NXT rookies in various states of laughter. Some leaning on the table, others leaning on chairs, and even on each other.

"Oooh burn!"

"First, second, or third degree?" She asks, fighting not to laugh.

"2nd degree this time." Alex answers.

"Aww I was shooting for third."

"Maybe next time he tries...he'll strike out and it'll be a third degree burn."

"He could get an infection and die." Riss says, looking innocent and making her eyes wide.

That just makes the whole table erupt in laughter yet again. She grins and laughs when she feels Justin lean on her, his body shaking with laughter.

"He looks so confused."

"Poor thing. Here let me dumb it down. You get infections from whores." She says to McGillicutty sweetly.

At this point some of the rookies slide out of the booth and onto the floor, doubled over in laughter. McGillicutty turns red and storms off. She smirks triumphantly.

"Strike 2."

She resumes eating and watches with amusement as the rookies and Justin recover from laughing.

"Ohhh Karissa, that was awesome." Alex says, still recovering from the laughter.

"Why thank you."

"That's worth a high five." He says, coming over.

She laughs and high fives him.

"Oh and to let you know, Air and I are gonna be on NXT tonight. We've been invited."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Don't know what for exactly. Some challenge we know nothing about I guess."

"Ohhh."

"So you'll be seeing us tonight."

"Sounds fun."

"I'm more or less curious about this mystery challenge."

"I guess we'll see."

"Right."

"Of course I'll have company backstage." She says, giggling softly as Justin presses himself close and rests his chin on her shoulder.

"Oh of course."

"Feel free to come talk though."

"Air will probably have company too."

"Oh okay."

"I mean you know about her and you know who like we do."

Alex nods.

"It must be hard for her considering...."

"It is but she makes the best of it. We try to help them out whenever we can."

"Ah."

"I don't know how she does it though." She shakes her head slightly.

"I don't know how she does it either."

"Having to hide all the time..." She muses.

"I don't think I could do it." She finishes.

"I think I'd go crazy."

Alex nods in agreement.

"But she'll be happy to see you."

"I'll definitely stop and say hi at least."

"Good."

The rest of the rookies calm down and sit back in their chairs. Riss decides to get some more food so she untangles herself from Justin to go up to the buffet line again.

"Dude you are so lucky." One rookie blurts out to Justin once she's gone.

"Oh, I know."

"Believe me. I know I'm lucky to have her." He adds.

Then she comes back with more food. She slides right back up against Justin's side. He smiles and puts an arm around her. She kisses his cheek before eating. Since he was done eating, he sits there, keeping his arm around her while she eats. She finally finishes and leans into him.

"All set to go?"

"Mmhmm."

"After you."

She slides out first and he follows. They link hands and leave the restaurant area.

"What now?"

"It better not be anything super physical. I'm still a little sore you know." She adds.

"Right, I know. Hmm..how about we go out and get you an outfit for NXT tonight?"

"Okay." She nods.

"Only if you want to."

"Sounds fun"

"You just want me to try on a lot of things." She adds.

Justin smirks.

"No sneaking in the dressing room." She shakes her finger at him.

"Awww." He says jokingly.

"Not like last time."

"Darn."

"If you behave, I'll let you pick some things out at your favorite store." She compromises.

"Alright."

She giggles as his smirk widens.

"But that's a big if."

"Insatiable." She teases.

""Of course I am."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Then they head out of the hotel and to the car, getting in and heading off to a store. They find a good one and go inside, she wanders around, flipping through different dresses. She finds a few and finds Justin before heading over to the dressing room area.

"I want to see them all." He says from his chair.

"I know."

"Don't worry."

She puts on the first one and opens the door.

"I love it."

She laughs.

"Of course you do."

"Next."

She shuts the door to change into the next one. After changing into that, she opens the door back up and walks out. She does a little spin.

"Well?"

"I love that too."

"That doesn't help me." She laughs, putting her hands on her hips.

"It's true though."

"Goof." She says amusedly.

"Your goof."

"I know." She smiles before going back into the stall.

"This is the last one." She calls.

"Okay."

After putting that one on, she walks out for the last time. She stops in front of Justin and waits for a reaction.

"That one's my favorite."

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

"Alright. This one it is."

"We're getting the other two as well though."

She raises an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Yes, we are."

"Alrighty then."

She heads back in to change into he clothes, and then she comes back out and Justin pays for all three dresses.

"Thank you." She kisses his cheek.

"You're welcome. Now onto shoes and all that."

She nods. They leave the dress store and head off to a shoe store.

"You can get as many pairs as you want."

"I won't go shoe crazy." She laughs.

"Oh I know, I'm just saying."

"I know."

They get to the store and head in, Justin lets her go off and find any pairs that she likes. She gets a few pairs of casual shoes and then move to the heels. She tries on different pairs, keeping an eye on Justin's face to see his reactions. She notices that he seems to smile more when she has the heels on. She picks out two pairs that she likes that also got good reactions from him. They both agree on getting both of the pairs and they take the shoes and pay for them. They go in the trunk and they head to the next store. That store is of course jewelry. She goes straight to the necklaces, while he goes towards the rings. Justin looks over the engagement rings, making sure she's not looking. He finds some that he likes, but since I'm not with him to point out what she likes, it makes it hard. He decides to wait and glances over at her. She's holding two necklaces and chewing her lip. He sees her struggling to pick one so he walks over to try and help. She jumps slightly when his arms slide around her waist.

"Need help?"

"Mmhmm." She murmurs, relaxing into him.

"Hmmm....that one."

"Okay." She agrees.

"Anything else you need help with?"

"I still have to pick earrings, a bracelet and a ring."

"Alright, I'll browse and if you need help just ask."

"Will do." She nods, kissing him briefly.

He then walks off to just browse stuff while she looks for the rest of the jewelry. She has an easier time finding the rest of the jewelry so it isn't long before she's done.

"Alright, I'm all set."

"Alright." Justin smiles.

They go to the register and pay for that before going back out to the car.

"Time to go relax." She declares when they get in the car.

"Until you have to be at the arena, probably early to be given the details of the mystery challenge."

"Yeah." She nods.

After getting into the car, they both head back to the hotel. Once there, they carry the bags up. She puts the bags down before going over to the bed and laying down. She sprawls out, closing her eyes.

"Tired already?"

"Mmm." She mumbles.

She lets out a content sound when Justin rubs her lower back.

"I can make you fall asleep faster." He chuckles.

"Magic hands."

"Of course." He chuckles.

Justin pauses to set a phone alarm and she whines quietly, shifting under his hand.

"I'm just setting the alarm on my phone."

"You stopped."

"I had to set the alarm, can't really do it with one hand."

She grumbles. Once the alarm is set he goes back to rubbing her back. She sighs happily.

"Better?"

"Mmhmmmm..."

"Good."

He gives her a full back massage and chuckles when he sees she's fallen asleep. He stops and lays next to her, keeping an arm draped over her and he too falls asleep. A few hours later, we get to the arena for NXT. We all arrived seperately, Riss and Justin, me and Ted. But after we walked in, Ted and Justin both told us to wait and they walked off for a few minutes. We exchange looks. I just shrug as we stand there. The door opens and we look over, seeing some of the rookies walk in and the last to walk in was Alex. We both wave at him. The rest of the rookies see Riss and start laughing to themselves. She giggles, remembering the scene from breakfast.

"Why are they laughing?" I ask.

"I think I can answer that." Alex says as he stops when he reaches us.

"Go for it." She laughs.

"See McGillicutty went for attempt number two of flirting with her. He got a strike two this time."

"Ohhhh."

"Then we all cracked up when she told him that he could get an infection and die."

"She made the best face too, oh it was killer." He snickers.

"I should've been there." I laugh.

"Oh you should have been. He turned the best shade of red and stormed off."

"Speaking of storming off, you should've seen what I did to Maryse."

"Oh?" Riss asks curiously.

"Yeah. Ted and I had breakfast you know, being the 'friends' we are right?" I start, purposely saying 'friends' so no one gets suspicious if they're around us.

"Uh-huh."

"It was all peaceful until she had to ruin the moment...almost. She was complaining about how I was having breakfast with him and that she didn't like it. I snapped at her, asking her who needed her opinion. She did her hand motion in my face, so I stood up and twisted it."

"Ohhh go you." Riss laughs.

"I told her that if she did that again, I would break her hand. Then she went off at me in French, so I shut her up but telling her to take her fake everything and step off, and if Ted wanted her at breakfast he would've invited her. I finished with telling her that if she didn't leave, I'd break the hand and I didn't care who saw. So she pulled her hand free and stormed off."

"Niiiiiiiice."

"She was NOT going to ruin breakfast for me."

"Good for you."

"But anyways...someone owes me a hug. I haven't seen him in forever." I say to Alex.

He chuckles and hugs me.

"I just got a high five." Riss says amusedly.

"Alex, how dare you?" I laugh.

"Well in his defense, Jussi was wrapped around me pretty good at the time." She concedes.

"But he's not now...." You continue.

Alex laughs and he hugs her as well. After he pulls away from the hug, that's when Justin and Ted come back.

"So where did you two disappear to?"

"We got a locker room to sit in."

"Ohhh."

"Sneaks."

They both grin.

"We have to go see what this challenge is all about and then we can go to the room."

"Ah ok."

We leave the boys to talk while we go get our information. We end up finding out that the mystery challenge is a pickup line challenge.

"Oh boy."

"Oh my god, that means Alex....hahaha." I crack up.

She starts giggling.

"We're gonna have to fight the urge to laugh at his attempt."

"Oh yes."

"Well let's head back to them."

She nods and we walk towards the guys.

"So, what is it?" Justin asks.

"We can't say in front of Alex...he's one of the rookies involved remember?"

"Oh, right."

"Sorry Alex."

"Yeah yeah yeah."

"I see how it is." He chuckles.

"We would if we could."

"You'll have to be surprised. All we can say, is good luck."

"Thanks." He laughs.

He heads off to the locker room he shares with all the rookies while the four of us head off to the locker room reserved for us. Once in the room, we end up on our boyfriend's laps.

"Always cuddly."

"Mmhmm." She giggles.

After a while, the show starts and first all the rookies are introduced in the following order...Alex, Husky, Titus, Kaval, Eli, Showtime Percy Watson, Lucky Cannon and lastly...McGillicutty.

"I don't know whether to laugh or glare."

"Gentlemen, tonight is the first major step in your journey. It's the first NXT poll. People from all over the world are going to their computer and logging onto wwe.com to decide your future. They are joining the WWE Pros as they cast their ballots for the rookie they feel should be the WWE's next breakout star. But to put into perspective how important it is to start off well, let me remind you of last season's winner Wade Barrett, who never was ranked below number 2. Now granted, this was last season. However, this season is even more important. Because tonight, we have a surprise to share with you. Not only are we going to reveal the NXT poll, but we're...tonight we're also going to eliminate whichever one of you was ranked last."

"Oh ho ho. Oh ho ho ho ho ho, ohhhhh...ohhh." Alex says, amused and laughing.

"Oh boy."

"He seems so amused by that."

"Yeah."

"So making an impact and standing out tonight is not something you should do, but something you have to do. However, there is one sure fire way to avoid being eliminated. And for more on that, we're gonna toss it over to my colleague, Matt Striker."

"Thank you Ashley, ladies and gentlemen it is time for the very first rookie challenge of NXT season 2, the ever popular Keg Carry!"

"Somebody's gonna trip."

"Now the rules are simple. The rookies will have to carry the keg without dropping it around the ring, and cross the finish line. Whomever does this in the fastest time, will get immunity from tonight's elimination. So let's get the challenge underway. Michael McGillicutty come on down."

"Trip....trip!"

"Fallllllll." Riss sings.

"Alright, here we go. Remember, immunity is on the line. Ready, set, go."

He picks it up and then instantly drops it, but runs around the ring anyway. He stops and drops the keg and turns around.

"Hang on! I'm sorry you have been disqualified for dropping the keg, those are the rules, this is NXT."

"Ahahahahaha."

"I think it was a little too heavy for him."

"Yup."

"Faiiiiiil." I sing.

We high five and laugh.

"Rookies I hope you're paying attention. Make sure you get your hands on that keg. Michael come here. Let's give you an opportunity. What're you thoughts? You heard the rules, you dropped the keg, what's going on?"

"I've carried kegs before. There's something with this. I was with Husky Harris the other night, and there was a keg that wasn't as heavy as that thing was. You're kidding me. It slipped out of my hands...it doesn't matter. I'll be in first place by the end of the night anyway."

"Psh, whatever."

"Okay, thank you Michael McGillicutty. I don't know if it was Husky's fault that you dropped the keg. Lucky Cannon, let's see what you've got."

"Ready, set, go."

Lucky picks it up no problem and runs around the ring, and across the finnish line, getting 12.7 seconds to beat.

"Dang."

"Show Percy Watson, come on down! Come on, dance your way down a little quicker my man, I know you're excited. Okay, ready, set, go."

Percy picks it up no problem and goes around the ring, coming across the finish line, getting the time of 13 seconds, being eliminated.

"Too bad."

"Lucky Cannon still has the time to beat. Big Eli Cottonwood. This is for immunity. Ready, set, go."

Eli picks it up like it's nothing and he just walks around the ring fast, coming across the finish line with the time of 13.3 seconds.

"Ooooh, so close. Kaval, please step forward. Ready, set, go."

"Striker, in all seriousness this thing weighs just as much as I do. So I'm not gonna pose anymore risk to my body, unless it's in that very ring for the WWE Universe."

"Wimp."

"Alright, some might say that sounds like a crock but okay. Big Titus O'Neil come on down and make an impression. 12.7 seconds, the time to beat are you ready, set, go."

Titus picks it up and only gets mere inches away from the finish line when he started, when he tripped and dropped the keg.

"Ahahahahaha."

"Well someone tripped bahahahaha." I say, leaning into Ted because I'm laughing so hard.

"I told you." She giggles.

"You know the rules, you got caught up here."

Then they reply what happened and it's even funnier the 2nd time. Riss leans into Justin, laughing.

"You know the rules, what happened right here?"

"This is one of the reasons why you don't drink ladies and gentlemen. If you do...if you do, please don't drive. That's what I tried to do just now, psh...tried to make it a win."

"Alright Titus O'Neil. Let's look at a slow replay of that can we?"

They play it one more time, in slow motion...it's even funnier than the 2nd time. We're all dying of laughter.

"Make it a win, eh Titus? Husky Harris come on down. Ready, set, go."

Husky picks it up, and gets to the announcer's table before dropping the keg.

"Oh, you dropped the keg, you've been disqualified. So so sorry Husky."

"Haha."

"Alright Husky, let's be professional. That looked like it hurt. Did you get hurt doing that?"

"You're pretty brave, for even saying a word to me. So why don't you back off, and I'll worry about what happens to me."

"Rawr."

"Rawr?" Ted asks curiously.

"Yes, he's being snippy. He snapped just there so...rawr." She sticks her tongue out.

"I guess the tensions are running hard. Remember someone's gonna be eliminated tonight. The final one, A-Ry, Alex Riley."

"Yeah, Alex woooo!"

"Go Alex!" Riss cheers too.

"Lucky Cannon is the leader, YOU are looking for immunity. Ready, set, go."

Alex picks the keg up, going around the ring, coming across the finish line as he falls to the floor with a time of 13.8.

"Booooo."

"Awww."

"Lucky this is a big deal, you're safe for tonight. How do you feel?"

"Man I feel awesome right now. You know what, some of those guys back there...they're a little bit bigger than me. Some of them hey, might have been a bit faster. But you know what, what I lack in size and speed, I make it up for heart. Tonight and every night, because anything in life worth having is worth fighting for."

"Hmm, true."

After a bit of celebrating and highlighting the match, a video package of Percy was show, talking about his life and such. Like they do for all the rookies.

"He's very strange."

"Um...yeah."

Then after that up next it's going to be MVP vs Husky Harris. Percy and Cody both being ringside for each other's pro & rookie. She shrugs, and turns towards Justin, snuggling into him.

"It's gonna be a while before our challenge."

"Ah. More time for cuddling."

"Yayyy."

Ted has decided to busy himself with playing with my hair. Justin is now fiddling with the two rings Riss has one, one being a black rose ring and the other being her Tiffany infinity ring that Justin gave her on their one year anniversary.

"Having fun?" She giggles.

"Mmhmm."

"I thought so."

"Hey, you never told us what the challenge was about." Ted realizes.

"Oh yeah, that's right."

"We'll be testing their mic skills. They have to come up with two pick up lines. One to use on each of us. Whoever has the best lines, wins."

"This should be very amusing." I snicker.

"Oh yes." Riss giggles.

Ted and Justin exchange looks.

"You two don't have to worry about anything."

"Alex is just a friend and the others can't begin to compete with you two. We love you, not any of them."

"Exactly."

They nod a bit.

"I think last night was proof enough." She says softly in Justin's ear.

He smiles and quietly chuckles. She smiles and brushes her lips against his.

"They may be like that for a while." I say quietly, laughing to myself.

"Yeah." Ted laughs a little himself.

"But you won't be left out you know." He adds, pushing a piece of hair behind my ear that fell in front of my face when I moved.

"Oh?" I smile.

"Uh huh." He nods.

"Sounds nice."

He chuckles before pressing his lips against mine. We all lose track of time due to the kisses. We didn't know it but we went through the first match distracted, and even the 2nd match. The knock on the door and our names being called, made us stop.

"Oops. Time to go." Riss says as she reluctantly pulls away from Justin's lips.

"Awwww."

"Later." She pats her cheek.

"Air...let's go."

I sigh and break away from Ted.

"Booooo."

"Come on."

"...fine." I sigh, moving from Ted's lap.

She gets up from Justin's lap and we both do some quick makeup touch ups before we leave. We go to the curtain and listen as Striker announces for all the rookies to not leave the ring because there's another surprise...a second rookie challenge. They all exchange looks.

"I'll reveal what the challenge is in a minute, but first let's bring out our two judges!"

They play our tag team music and the two of us walk out. McGillicutty of course has his eyes on Riss instantly and he's surprised to see her on the show, but happy that she's the judge for whatever's happening. She notices his look and struggles to squash the urge to roll her eyes. We however look to see Mike on the stage with the rest of the pros and wave to him before heading down the ramp to the ring. Alex and Lucky come to the ropes and hold them open for us to get in the ring. We thank them before going to the middle of the ring, waiting for Striker to announce what the challenge will be.

"Alright. Here's the surprise challenge. We are going to test your mic skills by having you come up with pick up lines to use on the lovely Divas Ariel and Karissa. You'll have to come up with two lines, one per Diva, and at the end, they'll choose the rookie with the best ones." Striker announces.

"Here we go." I snicker quietly.

Riss laughs a bit herself.

"Alright, first up we have Showtime Percy Watson. Good luck." Striker says, handing his mic to Percy.

The two of us look at him. First he approaches Riss.

"If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put U and I together...OH YEAH!"

She shakes her head and laughs. Then he moves onto me.

"Was that an earthquake or did u just rock my world? OH YEAH!" He says, before he claps, like he always does.

Riss can't help snickering.

"Thank you Percy Watson. Next up Kaval."

Our attention moves to him. This time he starts with me, and he clears his throat.

"The night is young, the moon is bright, and you are here with me tonight."

We look at each other like 'wtf?'. Even the other rookies look at him strangely, Alex is about to crack up at Kaval's poor attempt and lame pickup line. Riss looks at Kaval warily, waiting for what strange line he'll use next. He clear his throat again before speaking.

"You can fall off a building, you can fall out a tree, but baby, the best way to fall is in love with me."

She just stares at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, thank you Kaval. Big Titus O'Neil, you're up."

We look at each other and then at him. He turns to face Riss and starts.

"This is a test of the emergency pickup line service. Beeeeeeeeeep. If you had been any less beautiful, you would have just heard a bad pickup line."

She facepalms. I motion for the mic.

"And that was a bad pickup line to begin with." I say.

Riss nods vigorously.

"But come on...bring on the pickup line for me."

"I wish you were DSL so I could get high-speed access."

Riss facepalms again. I give him a weird look as Matt takes the mic back, thanking him.

"Husky Harris, you're next."

Riss moves her hand and we look over at him.

"Ariel....I was blinded by your beauty so I'm going to need your name and number for insurance reasons."

Riss snickers.

"Did Cody teach you that one?" I ask, before looking over at the pros on the stage. "Good one Cody. Great job." I say sarcastically, putting a thumbs up.

Riss laughs.

"Karissa....I may not be a genie but I can make your dreams come true"

She makes a disgusted face. "More like nightmares."

I start cracking up and walk over to the ropes to lean on them for support. Alex is trying really hard not to laugh at this point.

"Hey! She's laughing, she's not supposed to be laughing."

"Shut it pretty boy!" Riss says to Cody.

He glares.

"That's right, I went there."

She waves mockingly. I recover from my laughter as Matt gives the mic to Eli for his turn. Riss turns back around. Eli starts with her.

"Are you a magnet cuz im attracted to you"

She facepalms again. He instantly moves onto me.

"Life without you would be like a broken pencil...pointless."

I just stare at him.

"Okay.....okay Eli...let's step back shall we?" Striker asks, taking the mic.

"Lucky Cannon, you're up."

We look at him warily.

"Ariel...you must be in a wrong place - the Miss Universe contest is over there."

We exchange a look. And this time it's a good look.

"Karissa...you got something on your chest: my eyes"

She glares, folding her arms over her chest. He steps back instantly, handing the mic back to Matt.

"Alright, Michael McGillicutty.."

Riss looks over, knowing she won't like what she's going to hear. He decides to save her for last so he comes over to me. He looks me up and down before using his pickup line.

"I know its not Christmas, but Santa's lap is always ready."

I just smack him since he's within reach. I then back up so he can't get near me at all while he's doing his pickup line on Riss. After he recovers from the slap he moves onto her.

"What has 142 teeth and holds back the incredible hulk? My zipper"

Before he can react, she immediately knees him in the crotch, hard.

"Looks like I just killed the not so incredible Hulk."

He's on the mat, holding himself and rolling around.

"Last but not least, Alex Riley. Let's hope you can do better than Michael McGillicutty over there."

We both glance at Alex. He starts with Karissa.

"Baby your like a student and I am like a math book, you solve all my problems"

She can't help giggling. Then he walks over to me, since I'm still leaning against the ropes, and he looks closely at my eyes.

"Excuse me, I think you have something in your eye. Nope, it's just a sparkle."

"Awwwww." I quietly say to myself.

I giggle a bit afterwards.

"Alright, we'll let you two ladies talk amongst yourselves and choose the winner."

We walk to the corner.

"I think its kind of obvious." She mutters.

"Alex...."

"Yup."

"The pickup line he gave you was funny."

"Funny and kind of cute. I'll probably be in a little trouble with Jussi for giggling at it."

"I can see him getting all jealous right now."

"Mmhmm." She nods.

"The one he gave you though was way too sweet." She adds.

"I know."

"Well let's reveal him as the winner."

She nods in agreement. We turn around and walk towards everyone, ready to reveal the winner.

"Looks like we're ready to declare a winner." Striker says.

"We'll let you do the honors." He adds, handing us a couple of mics.

"It didn't take too much debate." Riss says.

"There's only one of you who really won us over with the pickup lines. And that is..."

"Alex!!!" We say at the same time.

He grins and does the "yes!" arm pump. Then he comes over to us and engulfs us in a huge hug, We laugh and hug him back. They go to commercial, which is our cue to leave.

"Awww you don't wanna stay, be my good luck charms?" Alex asks before we even leave.

"We would but we have people waiting on us."

"We'll give you good luck from backstage."

"Alright."

We hug him one last time before getting out of the ring and heading back up the ramp and backstage. We get back to the room and step inside.

"No one's jealous I hope."

Ted and Justin just give us a look.

"Oh come on."

"Alex is one of our best friends."

"He's harmless."

"We've been through this."

We sigh and sit on their laps.

"Say something."

No response and we sigh again.

"That's it...." I start to say, before turning and pressing my lips to Ted's and hard this time.

Ted soon responds, pulling me close. Then Riss decides to do the same to Justin since nothing else is getting through to him. She presses herself close, holding his shirt in her hands. I pull away from Ted before things get too distracting.

"Are you there now?"

"...yeah..."

"That prove that I love you and only you?"

He nods.

"Good...remember that. Alex is a friend, and I only love him like a brother...that's it."

Ted nods before stealing another kiss. This time he doesn't let me pull away, he holds me there. I giggle and let him, enjoying the kiss. Riss and Justin haven't pulled away either, he didn't want to after he had responded. She starts to draw back, loosening her grip on his shirt. When they do finally pull away, she leans her forehead against his.

"I love you." She says softly.

"Love you too."

She sighs in content and snuggles up to him. We look at the screen to see the matchups for the pay-per-view, and again there was a replay of what happened years ago with Edge and the Money in the Bank ladder match. That soon ends and the first elimination of NXT is getting ready to start.

"Rookies, the moment that you have been anticipating is upon us. You finally get to see how you've been evaluated in the eyes of the WWE Pros, and in the eyes of the WWE Universe. But that anticipation has turned into trepidation, as we learned earlier tonight one of you will be eliminated. Lucky Cannon you have immunity due to your victory in the keg carry challenge, so you're safe for tonight."

"Hmph." Riss glares.

"And Alex Riley, you are safe as well for winning the pickup line challenge not too long ago."

"I was gonna say, he better be safe too."

Riss nods.

"But for the rest of you, the time for talking is over. Let's find out, let's see the NXT poll."

Ranked first was Kaval.

"Whyyy?"

"Lame."

LayCool cheers of course and then ranked 2nd was Percy.

"Eh."

"Meh."

Percy celebrates more than MVP does, and then ranked 3rd was McGillicutty. Riss glares. Ranked 4th, was Alex. He wasn't too pleased but at least he still had the immunity just in case. Mike wasn't too pleased either.

"4th? Really? No one knows talent when they see it."

"Agreed."

5th was Lucky, he didn't look too happy himself either. Sixth was Eli and both him and Morrison were pleased, because he wasn't at risk for elimination anymore.

"Eh."

"Alright, Titus O'Neil please step forward. Husky Harris please step forward. Now for one of you, this dream is ending a lot quicker than you thought. But for the other guy who remains, it's important to understand that you got your work cut out for you, you have a long haul ahead of you. With that said, let's see who's going home."

A drumroll begins and it takes a bit before revealing that Husky had just survived, being ranked 7th, and Titus was ranked 8th...so Titus is going home.

"Sorry dude."

"I guess he didn't...make it a win."

"Nope."

"Titus, what's going through your mind right now? You're going home, take this time, tell the world why they were wrong, tell them all about Titus O'Neil."

"Well I can say this just like the many of you in this crowd and the many of you at home, that had to deal with numerous...way more obstacles than I've had to deal with in this ring. Some of you have fought cancer, some of you have had to deal with your families going overseas to Afghanistan and not coming back, some of you have had to teach kids that are so hard to teach and tell them over and over again what they can't do. Regardless of the fact that I'm going home tonight, I still want all of you to understand and remember that life is a game and you must make it what you can. So while you are living and take each and every opportunity that you can to make it a win!"

"Not too bad advice..."

"Let's hear it one more time for a class act, Titus O'Neil! Gentlemen, you now understand the finality of being on NXT, and the competition will intensify. One of you have already gone home. We're gonna find out who's gonna be the WWE's next breakout star as NXT continues to roll on."

The screen fades on Titus heading backstage, the show ending.

"Time to go."

"Yes." I agree, yawning a bit and stretching when I move from Ted's lap.

"Someone's tired." Ted chuckles as he gets up.

"It's been a long day." I nod.

"True." He agrees.

"Staying the night again or staying in your room this time?"

"Do you really need to ask that?"

"No I guess not."

He puts his arm around me.

"I'm taking advantage of every moment I can spend with you."

"Awwwwwww." Riss smiles as she and Justin get up.

"Too cute." She giggles.

Then we all leave, going to our respective cars and heading back to the hotel.