Canary and the Coal Mine

My backpack is heavy on my shoulders.

Stuffed full of all the possessions I have, it anchors me to my spot on the doorstep and reminds me I have no place here. No place to unpack my things, no place to get out of the rain.

I’m rooted to the porch, staring up at the family that gave me back.

“She’s just such a handful,” Mrs. Whiting whispers to the social worker beside me. She slowly turns her head, eyes cold and a sick smile on her face. “That’s probably why her daddy never came home. That’s why her mommy never came looking for her. That’s why no one loves her! She’s a bad, terrible little girl!”

Tears sting my eyes and I try to pull back, run away. Get away from the mean woman, away from the social worker that laughed and gave a quick nod of agreement. The cruel, heartless children huddled in the doorway that had lied and said I stole their things.

I can’t move.

The backpack is too heavy, but I can’t take it off. I can’t lose all my things. All I have left of daddy is tucked away inside it; I can’t lose daddy again. I struggle as hard as I can to get away; the woman and the kids laugh and point as I crumple to the porch, covering my face with shaking hands.

“I want my daddy,” I blubber; the laughter begins to fade, and I lift my head up. Pure darkness surrounds me and a soft, fast tapping starts up, echoing around my head. It’s so dark I can’t see my own hands directly in front of my face. Panic churns in my chest as I hear the tapping growing louder.

I don’t feel the weight of the backpack anymore, but now I don’t want to move.

“Daddy!” I manage, turning my head around. The tapping turns into footsteps, making the ground beneath me shake. A figure, somehow darker than the shadows around us, begins to stalk towards me.

“Your daddy’s dead,” it hisses; a hand locks onto my throat and lifts me up. “Your daddy won’t save you now!”

--

I woke with a start, jolting upright in bed and clutching the sheets to my chest. Tears were streaming down my face; my whole body was shaking. At first I was back in the shadows, the tapping louder now, echoing around the dark room.

I want my daddy, I thought groggily, inching lower into the bed, trying to shrink away from the shadows that seemed to move around me. A cool hand rested on my arm and I let out a squeak of terror, cringing away.

“It’s me,” Nikki murmured in the darkness to my right; I let out a shaking breath of relief. Nikki. I was in the hotel in Miami, not some dark, endless void. I wasn’t being hunted by some shadow man.

With my eyes adjusted to the dark now, I saw my best friend roll towards me and reach out again. Her hand gave my arm a gentle squeeze, and I tried to focus on that instead of the panic still burning through me.

“Sorry,” I said softly, starting to sink back down. I could just make out the sleepy smile she gave me as her hand slipped back to the bed and her eyes fluttered shut. I curled up on my side and I scooted back until I was pressed up against her arm.

As childish as it was, just having the reassurance I wasn’t alone was enough to help calm me down. As I’d just started to drift off again, the tapping rang out again. My eyes snapped open, but before I could panic, I heard them clearly.

Knocking.

Someone was knocking.

I got up groggily and shuffled for the door, sparing a glance back to make sure Nikki was still asleep. I caught sight of the time and felt my face pull into a frown as I unlocked the door. After waking up like I just had, the last thing I wanted to do was deal with whoever felt the need to come by at this godless hour.

As I eased the door open, careful not to make too much noise, I found myself staring up at Randy. I was so surprised I just blinked up at him, trying to process the fact he was right in front of me.

“Hey,” he said softly, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. When he caught sight of me, his brows furrowed. “Are you okay?”

“Bad dream,” I murmured, quickly wiping at my eyes to try and look less pathetic than I did. “What do you need?”

“Can I, uh, can I talk to you?”

“It’s four in the morning,” I started, fighting off a yawn. “Can I just meet you for breakfast or something?”

“I’m on my way to the airport,” he told me, looking apologetic. “My little girl is sick, so I’m gonna spend the weekend with her.”

I pressed my lips together and continued to stare up at him, debating.

“You ignored me all night,” I pointed out; he dropped his gaze to the ground. “We could have talked this through hours ago.”

“Jay, I just needed a bit to cool down. I didn’t wanna take my anger out on you.”

“You already did, Randy. I’m really tired, and I just want -”

“Please, Jamie. Just a few minutes. Just let me apologize,” he urged again; my heart twisted a bit, and I blew out a breath. Randy’s face lit up as I snagged a room key off the desk and slipped into the hall. As the door shut, I leaned back against it and motioned for him to speak.

“Baby, I’m sorry. I went too far. I know I said I’d hold back, but I just can’t. You do things to me, and I just lose myself.”

“Randy, it’s not even that. I mean, yes, it is,” I said quickly, catching the expression on his face. “But it’s more the fact that whenever we argue, or whenever you go too far and I tell you to stop, you storm off and ignore me. Or you lash out at me over stupid things, and then turn it all around -”

“I know, I know,” he said quickly, coming up to me and gently resting his hands on my shoulders. He went to pull me into a hug and I put my hand on his chest to hold him back. His face pulled into a hurt frown, but he got the hint and took a step back.

“I’m really tired of fighting with you,” I said quietly. “And I’m tired of you not respecting me.”

“Jay. Of course I respect you -”

“Then show it,” I challenged. “If you respect me, then show me you respect that I want to go slow. Show me you respect me enough to stay and talk instead of storming off.”

“I will,” he promised. “I will, Jay. I promise. I know I messed up. I know. I just don’t want to lose you.”

“Randy, you’re not gonna lose me,” I promised, trying to keep the hint of a smile off my face. Okay, so it was kinda nice to hear someone worry about losing me. No matter how pissed I’d been at him a few hours ago. “Just show me you care about me and my feelings. As sappy as that sounds.”

“I promise you I’ll show your sappy ass how much I care,” he crooned, and this time I didn’t fight the hug. He tucked me close to his chest and I wrapped my arms tight around his waist, burying my face into his shirt.

“Thank you,” I mumbled; he chuckled and I felt him press a kiss into my hair.

“I’m sorry I hurt you, baby. I promise, things are gonna be different.”

We pulled apart just a bit, enough for me to look up at him. He gave me a warm, reassuring smile, and when I returned it he ducked down and caught my lips.

He hummed into the kiss and let his arms loop around my waist and pull me closer. My hands slid up his chest and hooked around his neck as I leaned into the kiss. I felt him smile before he tilted his head and ran his tongue over my lips. He felt the hitch of my breath as I parted and let our tongues brush against each other.

Randy pressed me against the wall and used one hand to hold himself over me as the other squeezed my hip, thumb brushing circles along my hipbone. Just as I felt myself getting lost in the kiss, Randy slowly pulled back.

We stared at each other, chests heaving as we caught our breath, smiling like little kids. He actually chuckled as he righted himself; I cleared my throat as I straightened my shirt.

“I gotta get to the airport,” he said apologetically; when I felt my face twist into disappointment, he stooped to give me a chaste kiss. “But I’ll see you Monday. I’ll come find you at the show as soon as I get there, okay?”

“Okay,” I sighed, though I gave him a small smile. “Text me when you land, okay?”

“What, you’re gonna worry about me, Lawless?” he mused as he began to back down the hall. I crossed my arms and gave him a cold glare.

“Not at all, Orton.”

As he reached the corner, he gave me a wink and blew me a kiss, then disappeared out of sight. I took a long, deep breath, settling all the feelings bouncing around inside me. Randy had been a dick, that was true. But he’d apologized, and he seemed genuine about respecting me.

He seemed that way before too, I reminded myself as I slipped back into the room. But for now I swatted my negative thoughts away. Randy was human. He made mistakes. And if he really did change this time around…

I forced my concerns out of my head as I curled up beside Nikki again. The sleep that fear had chased away was slowly trickling back, and worrying about my relationship right now was gonna do nobody any good.

As sleep overtook me, I heard Randy’s words echoing in my mind. I promise you I’ll show your sappy ass how much I care.

The smile that settled on my face stayed with me until morning.

Monday

And now, please welcome Jamie Lawless as Doink the Clown!

God, I could hear Cole and JBL now. I made a face at my reflection, which did nothing to improve the overall image. Nikki came up behind me, hands on my shoulders as she grinned at me through the mirror. My best friend gave an excited squeeze before reaching around me to grab the curling iron.

“Makeup done,” she announced, and grabbed a strand of my hair. “Now we just need to get some curls going, and -”

“Nicole,” I groaned, ducking out of her hold and swatting her hands down. “I have to be at the arena in an hour and I’m not wrestling looking like this!”

She actually had the audacity to pout at me, crossing her arms defensively as she looked me over. My instincts had told me it was a mistake, giving her this power. I’d given her the go-ahead for a little mascara and a hint of eyeliner, and now I looked like I was ready to headline a burlesque show.

“You look adorable! You never wear makeup, so maybe today -”

“There’s a reason for that,” I argued, grabbing a paper towel off the bathroom counter and running it under the water. “I look ridiculous. It’s coming off.”

“No it’s not,” she said slyly as I scrubbed my face. I paused mid-clean and slowly lowered the paper towel. The only thing that came off was the foundation. Nikki gave me a cheeky grin in the mirror. “Most of that is waterproof.”

Irritation swept over me; I threw the paper towel down and crossed my arms.

“Where’s your makeup remover?”

“On John’s bus.”

“Are you kidding me?” I groaned, ducking past her now to dig desperately through her makeup bag. After nearly emptying it completely I dropped my head back in defeat. No makeup remover. “How can you not have any with you?!”

“Because I don’t take my makeup off right after I put it on,” she pointed out; I shot her a scowl as I skirted past her into the room, toeing my shoes on.

“What if you mess up and need to fix it?”

“Trust me, I don’t make mistakes,” she teased, batting her lashes at me as I rolled my eyes and snagged my wallet. “Where’re you going?”

“To the hotel store, in hopes they’ve got something strong enough to get this crap off,” I told her, sticking my tongue out as she flipped me off. I shut the door and swallowed my frustration. I knew Nikki just wanted to have fun, but this was the exact reason I never let her do my makeup. She always got carried away, and it wasn’t as easy to fix.

Thankfully I didn’t run into anyone on my way to the elevator. As the doors shut, I studied my face in the mirror. Nikki had done a ‘smokey eye’ on me, which actually didn’t look that bad, it just didn’t look right. My eyes were dark and smudgy, and my lips had been colored a deep, dark pink. My face was almost a whole shade darker from whatever foundation she’d used; I grimaced as I reached the lobby.

Makeup was not a good look for me.

The doors slid open and I ducked my head, racing through the reception area and ducking into the hotel shop. I immediately scampered to the beauty section and almost collapsed in relief, finding a bottle of remover that would take this stupid stuff off.

Checking out was thankfully fast and painless; I grabbed the bag from the cashier and spun to leave, colliding with the person directly behind me. Barely swallowing the squeak of surprise, I glanced up and met Dean’s amused gaze. My entire face erupted in a blush and I immediately dropped my head back down.

“Heya Finch,” he said slowly, stepping around me to hand the cashier his drink. “Lookin’ pretty dolled up for a trip t’the Stop N’ Shop.”

“Yeah, uh, Nikki got a little carried away,” I mumbled sheepishly, moving aside as he made his purchase. Dean made a noise of agreement, and I blushed a little harder.

“I see that. You don’t wanna wear that t’the ring?”

“Uh, no,” I snorted, peeking up at him briefly as he turned to follow me out of the store. “I look freakin’ ridiculous.”

As we paused by the elevator Dean stepped closer to me, fingers coming up under my chin to tip my head back and take a look. I didn’t pull away, but I had to look aside. I looked so damn stupid all painted up like a freaking doll. Dean hmm’d and gave my chin a squeeze.

“Looks good. Looks real good,” he said simply, pulling his hand back but not moving away from me. “But I like y’lookin’ natural. You don’t need all that shit on ya.”

“Thanks,” I said, cheeks even darker than before as I gave him a smile. The doors slid open and we stepped in; I had to get the subject off my ridiculous getup. “So, what’s on the Shield’s agenda tonight?”

Dean smirked and leaned back against the wall of the elevator, taking a long swig of his drink as he studied the doors.

“Whole lotta stuff that don’t concern you,” he finally answered, earning a snort of amusement from me.

“What, you’re telling me you’re not gonna jump me or my friends in the ring?”

“Well, seein’ as you’re friends with the whole damn roster,” he started, shooting me a smile as I rolled my eyes.

“Amazing how much people like you when you’re not taking cheap hits,” I pointed out. It was Dean’s turn to scoff as he took another sip. “Can you at least tell me if you’re in an actual match, or if you’re making your own?”

The doors opened on my floor, and to my surprise, Dean motioned for me to lead the way. He stayed quiet until we’d rounded the corner, nearly to mine and Nikki’s room.

“I ain’t sayin’ nothin,” he informed me; I rolled my eyes again and paused outside my door, frowning up at him. He leaned his shoulder on the doorframe and smirked down at me, clearly amused at having the one-up.

“Okay, okay,” I tried to reason, crossing my arms. “At least tell me if you’re working for Punk.”

“You really think I’d -”

Dean cut off as Nikki pulled the door open, grinning mischievously at the two of us. Dean and I exchanged a look before we both turned to raise our brows at her.

“Dean! Doesn’t Jamie just look gorgeous?!” she urged; I barely kept my screech of disbelief inside me as I gave my best friend an incredulous glare. She was too busy grinning wildly at Dean to notice.

He glanced back at me and smirked again, shoving his hands in his pockets as he started to back up. He was a little too gleeful to get out of my questioning.

“Yeah,” he told her; somehow her smirk got even wider as his eyes burned into mine. “Like I said, though. Y’don’t need that shit on ya t’look good, darlin’.”

Nikki actually fucking squealed. I smacked her with the bag of makeup remover as I felt my whole body light up in a blush. She opened her mouth to say something else as I quickly shoved her back inside. As I went to shut the door, I heard,

“Finch?”

As much as I wanted to hide in my room and beat up my best friend, I slowly leaned back out. Dean was at the end of the hall, a genuine smile on his face. I flicked my brows up and, after looking around, he gave me a thumbs up and said, “have a nice day.”

“Thanks, Mick Foley,” I snorted, perplexed. It didn’t make any sense at all, but let’s be honest, it wasn’t the weirdest thing Dean had done. Nikki surged to lean back out and I had to finally pull my eyes off him to wrestle her back into the room before she could embarrass me even more.

-x-

“Hey, hey, hold up,” John ordered, snagging my hand and tugging me back as I made to take off for backstage. He held me in place as the twins caught up to us, a serious frown on his face.

“Whatever it is, I didn’t do it,” I defended, earning a disbelieving snort from Nikki and an eye roll from Brie. At least Bryan was busy with Kane tonight, saving me from being completely outnumbered. “Or at least there’s a good chance you can’t prove it was me.”

John’s face gave an unamused twitch; he dropped his hold on me, but I had a feeling running the opposite direction wasn’t a good idea. We all fell into step as we hiked into the building, ready to kick off Raw.

“Look, I know how much you enjoy harassing the other superstars,” John began, sounding a lot like he was scolding a child. I did my best not to pout like one. “But you’ve got a lot of big opportunities coming up. The last thing I’d wanna see is you losing out because you had to pull a few pranks.”

“I know my limits,” I promised him; out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brie start to argue, then snap her mouth shut. With a glance over my shoulder at her, she gave a quick smile and added,

“We know you do. It’s just… You like to pick fights with upper management. And all we’re saying is, maybe reign it in until after Royal Rumble.”

As much as I wanted to argue, I knew they both had a point. I’d been lucky so far not to take any heat for all the crap I’d thrown out. John saw the defeat in my frown and reached out to ruffle my hair as he and Nikki paused by one of the side hallways.

“It’s just for a few weeks. And after that, I’ll make sure to look the other way when you’re sneaking food coloring into Damien’s shampoo.”

“I’m holding you to that,” I huffed, swatting his hand away but offering a smile as he and Nikki headed down the hall. “I’ll catch you lovebirds later.”

Nikki gave me a wink as Brie and I locked arms and headed for the divas locker room. As of late, I’d been trying to use the superstar locker room a little more. Hunter and Stephanie wanted to keep the superstars and divas separated, and so far none of the guys seemed to mind me taking up an extra locker. And with the other divas actually starting to look annoyed at my constant presence, the extra separation wasn’t such a bad idea.

I hugged my best friend briefly, and then took off to go get ready. I was still a little early, and I actually had the locker room to myself; I changed and then settled on the bench, pulling out my wrap tape.

“I’m in need of your services,” an accented voice said from behind me just a few moments later. As I wrapped my hands, I turned and glanced up, raising a brow at Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo, standing just a hair behind his friend.

“What can I help you boys with?” I asked, eyeing the bucket in Ricardo’s hands as I cautiously finished taping and stood up. Ever since I’d given Del Rio the win after Shield’s intervention, he’d actually been civil with me. Almost friendly, if I dared say it. I didn’t trust him farther than I could throw him - which, historically, was not that far - but I’d still be civil with him.

A wicked smile blossomed over Del Rio’s face.

“Do you still have some of the confetti that you put in Sandow’s locker?”

“You can’t prove that was me,” I half-threatened, pointing a finger at them as I went to my own locker. “And I might have a few bags left, granted whatever you’re going to do with it doesn’t get back to me.”

“What, you’re getting out of the troublemaking business?”

“Of course not,” I scoffed, digging out the bags and tossing them to Ricardo. “I just promised my friends I’d cool it with my meddling. Which means I’ve only got enough leeway to torment Dames, and I’m not giving that up.”

“Understood, niñita. Our lips are sealed,” Del Rio assured me, tipping his head as they backed out of the locker room. “We owe you one.”

I gave the men a two-fingered salute as I kicked my locker shut, heading out the opposite way in search of the twins. It was wishful thinking to find Bryan with them as well; he’d disappeared after breakfast yesterday morning, and he’d been scarce since. He and Kane had some ‘anger management’ meeting tonight, so at least he had to be here somewhere.

As much as I wanted to run around and wreak havoc, I really had promised to mildly behave. And with Royal Rumble just around the corner, I knew Brie and John had a point - I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize my spot.

The twins were reliably holed up in the divas locker room, and both tipped their heads back at the sound of the door. The other divas inside - Cameron, Naomi, and Natalya - all made faces as I skirted past their makeup area and dropped down onto the couch between the Bellas.

“You haven’t missed much,” Nikki promised, immediately kicking her legs up onto mine and stretching out. I took a handful of the crackers from the plate on Brie’s lap and stretched out. As Raw came back from commercial, the replay of the show opening was played.

Ricardo threw a bucket of confetti onto Show, and Del Rio proceeded to kick his ass. I winced watching the kick Del Rio landed on the side of Show’s head, but after all the giant had done to harass me, the sympathy didn’t linger. So that’s what my confetti had been for.

Not too shabby, Del Rio, I determined, trying to hide the smile of satisfaction that tried to flicker onto my face. Trying to play it casual, I glanced at the twins and caught the looks of exasperated disbelief.

“Are you the black market for nefarious goods in the WWE?”

“If I tell you, I’d have to kill you,” I warned; both twins scoffed at me.

“Please,” Brie said, nudging my side and making me squirm into Nikki. “We could easily take you.”

As I went to argue, Nikki nudged my other side and I jumped away with a squeak. She gave me a cheeky grin.

“Pull some Twin Magic on your ass.”

“That’s not fair,” I argued, tucking my arms down to protect myself. The twins shared a smirk over my head as I hunkered down into the cushions. “No cheating!”

“No promises,” Brie teased, but reluctantly left my ticklish spots alone.

“Seriously, why do you even need so many bags of confetti?” Nikki pressed; I gave a wide-eyed innocent shrug.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Nicole.”

She and Brie rolled their eyes as we all turned back to watching Raw. For once I actually spent the first half hour of the show just sitting and behaving. It was awful. I wasn’t the kind of person to just sit and watch TV, especially not when I could’ve been out in the halls harassing Damien and Cody.

So when Randy leaned into the locker room and caught my eye, I was scrambling to my feet before he even started talking.

“I’ve got a match with Barrett. Wanna go ringside?” he asked, watching me untangle myself from the twins. Brie and Nikki eyed him warily; as I skirted the couch, I threw them looks begging them to behave.

“‘Course I do,” I promised, pausing at the door. Randy glanced over my shoulder and gave the twins a smile.

“I’ll take good care of her,” he promised; though Brie forced a smile, Nikki kept her scowl.
“You better,” she threatened. Randy at least had the manners to act sobered by her ‘warning’.

“Yes ma’am,” he assured, before jerking his head towards the hall and leaning back out of the door. I glanced at my friends and gave a smile.

“I’ll be back!”

As the girls went to object I ducked after Randy, following him towards gorilla. As we rounded the corner, after making sure the coast was clear, he swooped down and pressed a chaste kiss to my lips.

“Told you I’d come find you.”

“A man of your word,” I agreed, earning a proud smile from the Viper. “How’s Alanna doing?”

“What?” he asked, glancing at me as we paused by the steps to the stage.

“Alanna. She doing okay?” I pressed, frowning just a hint when I saw the confusion on his face. He shrugged and bent to tie his boots a little tighter.

“She’s fine. Why?”

It was my turn for the confusion.

“You had to fly home at four AM because she was sick…?”

“Oh! Yeah,” he said quickly, righting himself immediately and rolling his shoulders back. “Yeah, she was fine. Her mom just oversold it to me. Acted like she was dying, and she just had a little temperature.”

“Oh, good. I’m glad she’s -”

“She’s fine,” he rambled, shrugging again and swinging his arms back and forth to loosen up as Barrett’s music hit. “I mean, I got there in a couple hours, and when I got home she was already back to normal. But she’s fine.”

“Good to hear,” I said slowly, eyeing my boyfriend as he rolled his neck and pointedly avoided meeting my eyes. I frowned. “You alright?”

“Me? I’m fine,” he said, still not looking at me. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re awful dodgy all of a sudden. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“I’m fine, Jay. Really.”

“Are you sure?” I pressed, ducking around to catch his eye. He immediately turned and started to study the monitor intensely. “Because you’re acting -”

I hear voices in my head…

Randy jerked his chin towards gorilla as he started up the steps.

“You ready? We’re on.”

Well, conversation over. I stifled my sigh but followed him up, hanging back just a step as he went out. Randy glanced over and caught my eye, giving a wink as Lillian introduced us.

“And his opponent, from St. Louis, Missouri, weighing in at 245 lbs… He is accompanied by Jamie Lawless… the Viper, Randy Orton!”

The two of us stalked slowly down the ramp, our eyes fixed on the cocky intercontinental champion in the ring. Randy peeled left, and I went right, the two of us circling the apron. Randy climbed the steps and got into the ring as I made my way to commentary.

Michael Cole gave me a welcoming smile at the same time JBL gave me an unamused sneer. King was the one that got to his feet and pulled up another chair, sitting me right next to himself.

“Ms. Lawless, what a pleasure to have you with us!” he gushed, handing me a headset as he grinned eagerly at me. JBL made a noise of distaste.

“There’s no need to have a heart attack over the NXT rookie,” he pointed out. I leaned around the other announcers to give him a dangerous grin.

“Awe, JBL. You always say the sweetest things. I’ve missed you.”

“Wow, John, how about that? Jamie Lawless is flirting with you!” Cole added, sharing a quick, devious look with me as JBL practically gagged. Oh, this was gonna be fun.

As I settled back in my chair, Barrett caught my eye from the ring. As I fixed my most intimidating glare onto him, he gave me a wink and blew me a kiss. Randy caught sight of him doing that just as the bell rang, and the Viper launched a vicious attack.

While Randy pinned Barrett to the corner and started pummeling him with forearms, I caught Cole eyeing me. Glancing at him, I raised a brow and offered a smile. He leaned forward, folded his arms, and gave me a curious look.

“Jamie, I’ve got to admit, I don’t really believe you’re out here just for Orton.”

“What are you talking about, Cole? Randy Orton’s one of her closest friends! Of course she’s out here for him!” King defended, giving a fierce nod as he glanced between us. Cole shrugged and continued,

“Unless she’s out here for the Shield.”

Even JBL glanced our direction at the mention of the notorious tag team. Smirking, and praying the boys were watching, I leaned back in my seat and folded my hands on my stomach.

“I’ll admit I’ve got my eye out for them, but Hounds aren’t a big concern of mine, Cole.”

“Even though you’re practically the first superstar out whenever they make an appearance?”

“Even so,” I confirmed. “Just because I like putting them back in line doesn’t mean they’re my priority. Like King said, Randy’s my friend. I’m out to support him.”

As Cole went to continue with the Shield, King interrupted him.

“I think we can all agree no one purposely seeks out the Shield,” he reasoned as I watched the match raging on. Though Barrett had nearly pinned Randy, my Viper was back in charge, setting the Intercontinental Champion straight with a few hard arm drags.

“You could say that,” I hinted in agreement; Cole caught the sly answer, but King either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

“What I’d love to talk about is Jamie’s first few months here in the WWE,” he pressed, fully turned to me now as if a match wasn’t going on. I pulled my eyes off the match to give him a quick smile in an attempt to be polite. “Or maybe about how she came up with the idea of Renegade, and what made her think about joining the male roster -”

“Lawless!” Barrett shouted; my head snapped over to him. He smirked at me, winked again, and blew a kiss. Randy wrapped an arm around his throat and ripped him off the ropes, throwing him out of the ring.

As the ref spun Randy around to chastise him, Barrett slithered into the ring. As I opened my mouth to get Randy’s attention, he caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to intercept Barrett and got a boot to the face.

I sucked in a breath and winced as Randy stumbled. But he kept his footing and shook the kick off, then surged forward for an RKO. Except Barrett was ready, and as Randy jumped and spun, he slammed his hands into the Viper’s back and launched him into the ringpost.

He let out a shout of pain and then scrambled as Barrett hauled him back and spun him around. Just as Randy got his bearings, Wade threw a hard forearm into Randy’s face. He dropped hard, still dazed from the ringpost, and couldn’t get his bearing fast enough to break the pin.

Barrett’s music filled the arena as he leapt to his feet. As the Intercontinental Champ pranced around the ring with his title, Randy slowly rolled to the apron.

“S’cuse me, gentlemen,” I said, giving the commentary team a smile as I pulled the headset off and hurried for the ring. I circled fast, ignoring Barrett’s sneers that came my way, and paused at Randy’s side. “You okay?”

“Do I fucking look okay?” he spat, struggling to sit up. On instinct I reached out and steadied him as he swayed. He pulled out of my touch and slid off the apron, stalking past me to storm up the ramp. Holding back a well-deserved eye-roll, I swallowed my annoyance and followed him up.

The moment we hit backstage, Randy all but took off for his locker room. I had to jog to keep up with him, nearly losing him twice as he wove through the staff and other wrestlers blocking our path. I just barely caught the door before it shut on me, and the second I slipped inside he rounded on me.

“What the hell was that?!”

“What was what, Randy?” I managed, swallowing the bubbling unease welling inside me; I’d never seen him this mad. Randy snarled and surged forward, bumping into me and trapping me between himself and the lockers, blue eyes burning with anger. I held as still as I could, staring up at him as he fumed.

“That bullshit you just pulled out there! What, you friends with Barrett too? You tryin’ to piss me off to get back at me?”

“Randy, what are -”

His fist slammed into the locker just inches from my head. On instinct I flinched down; he spun around and let out another snarl as he began to stalk back and forth. My heart was racing, stuck in my throat, instincts telling me to get the hell out of his sight.

Maybe I was crazy, or maybe I did feel a little guilty about sitting back and watching him take a loss, especially after getting jumped by Shield last week. But I had my reasons for staying out of the fight, and Randy had to understand that.

“I didn’t hold back because I wanted to watch you lose,” I said slowly, voice gentle like I was talking to a wounded animal. “I don’t interfere in fair matches. You know that. I don’t take the cheap win, and I don’t give them out.”

“So you think you’re better than me?” he challenged; I scoffed on instinct and immediately fell silent when Randy’s piercing gaze landed on me again.

“That’s not what I’m saying.”

“Well I’m saying it would’ve been nice to have a little backup out there.”

“Backup?” I managed, barely holding in a laugh of disbelief; that wouldn’t help the situation. “From what? If Shield had jumped you, I’d have been in the ring in a heartbeat. If Barrett had someone come out and interfere, I would’ve had your back. But asking me to jump in and help you in a fair fight -”

“Fucking forget it,” he spat, running a hand down his face and shaking his head, turning and snagging his hoodie off the bench. “There’s no point trying to get this through your thick fucking head.”

Mildly offended - and, okay, admittedly a little hard-headed - I moved between Randy and the door and rested a hand on his chest.

“I get you’re pissed. But you said things would change -”

Randy’s hands slammed into my shoulders and I stumbled back, hitting the lockers and then dropping hard when I couldn't regain my balance. He didn’t even give me a second glance as he stormed out of the locker room.

“Randy!” I called, adrenaline taking over as I shoved to my feet and took off after him. Maybe it was stupid to keep going after him when he was this pissed, but I didn’t care. We weren’t gonna fight over something stupid like this.

He was nearly to the parking lot by the time I caught his wrist. The second my fingers touched his skin he spun around. A squeak of alarm burst out of me as he grabbed my arms and hauled me down a side hallway.

Before I could brace myself, Randy slammed me into the wall and leaned down over me. His fingers dug into my skin; I grimaced and tried to wriggle free, but his hold only tightened.

“You’re hurting me -”

“And you’re pissin’ me the hell off,” he snarled, face just inches from my own. “What part of that do you not understand?”

“All of it,” I argued, wincing as he leaned even more on me. “Randy, seriously. Can we just talk for once? You said things were gonna change!”

“You need to give me some space. Do you get that?”

“No,” I hissed; as his hands tightened more, I pushed against the wall and managed to get Randy back a few steps. As he moved, I twisted myself to the side and broke his hold; his hands came for me again and I shoved them down. “Knock it off. You don’t need all this physical bullshit, okay? I’m leaving. I just thought maybe, for once, you’d care enough to try and talk this out before storming off.”

To my surprise, Randy didn’t throw back a heated reply. He didn’t even come after me again. He slowly folded his arms over his chest, eyes fixed on the ground as he took a few deep breaths. I took a chance and added,

“Can you just try to understand why I didn’t help in the match?”

He slowly lifted his head up, and his piercing blue eyes settled on me again. But he pressed his lips together and gave a slow nod. As I moved to get closer, he held a hand out to me.

“Look, I get it. Okay? I just need to clear my head.” When I went to reply, Randy moved towards me. On instinct I pulled back as he reached for me. A flicker of regret passed over his face as his hands came to rest gently on my shoulders. “I’m sorry Jay. I lost my cool. I didn’t… I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I’m okay,” I promised him softly; he nodded to himself as his hands ran down my arms. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I just hate arguing, and every time you walk away, we never fix -”

“I know, I know,” he promised me, pulling me to him gently. I tried to push the unease out of my mind as he tucked me into a hug. He hadn’t meant to hurt me, and I had kept pushing him even when he tried to leave. It was partially my fault he’d gotten so mad.

So against my instincts, against the nerves welled in my chest, I hugged him back and tucked my head onto his chest. He let out a breath of relief as we pulled apart, and he actually reached out to tip my chin up.

“You’re too good for me,” he murmured, then ducked to press a soft kiss to my lips. I actually laughed as we pulled apart.

“You’re over exaggerating,” I corrected, stepping back as we heard other people coming our direction. “Wanna come hang out with me and the twins?”

“I think I’m gonna go walk around. Clear my head,” he said, giving a sheepish smile. I reached out and gave his hand a squeeze of understanding. “I’ll come find you in a bit, okay?”

“Okay,” I said, giving him a smile in return. He didn’t say anything else as he turned and disappeared around the corner. Once he was gone I slumped against the wall and took a few deep breaths.

What the hell had just happened? I mean, we’d kinda talked, and he hadn’t walked away mad this time, but what the hell was with that anger?! Granted, I’d only known Randy about six months, and there could be a ton of new sides to him I didn’t know about, but still…

I let out one last shaky breath and then tried to breathe normally, slowing my racing heart. It was just heat of the moment stuff. We were both mad, we were both fighters, it was no wonder it’d come to a confrontation like that.

Right?

There was a nagging feeling in the back of my head that no, that’s NOT right, but I didn’t have time to linger on my wild, panicked thoughts right now. If I started over thinking I’d only make things worse.

Cool it, Jamie, I urged, pushing off the wall and grimacing as I felt a new bruise blooming on my shoulder blades. It was an accident. Impulse reaction. He didn’t mean anything by it and you don’t need to panic over it.

I kept up the less-than-comforting thoughts as I trudged back through the halls. I hadn’t realized just how boring the shows were when I wasn’t meddling with people. Guess that’s what I got for trying to be a responsible adult -

“We’re running late! How do you keep losing your badge!?” Cody demanded, running past me as he led Damien around the corner.

“It was just in my bag this morning! I swear -”

As Damien came into view, his eyes met mine and he skid to an almost comical stop. Chest heaving, robe askew, he stared me down like I was holding a gun to him. Cody was long gone thinking his tag partner was right behind him, so it was just the two of us. I took a step forward, and Damien took two back.

“It was you,” he breathed, sounding like we were in a weekday morning soap opera. “It’s been you all along! I thought I was going crazy the last few months -”

“I’ve felt the same way,” I gushed, rushing towards him. “I knew I couldn’t be the only one that felt this way!”

“What are you doing?!” he screeched, trying to duck around the corner. He bumped into the wall instead and I threw my arms around his middle. He let out a yelp like I’d burned him and tried to shove me off him.

“You said it’s been me all along, and I agree! It’s always been you! We can’t deny the chemistry we have!”

“Chemis-what?!” he screeched, falling back against the wall in shock. “You think I have romantic leanings towards you?!”

“I mean, I know we’re moving fast,” I said quickly, clinging to the robed, shrieking man as best I could. “But I’ve already got the colors of our wedding picked out. Cody could be our best man, and his mustache could be the ring bearer -”

“Lawless!”

“Help me, Cody!” Damien cried, surging for his tag partner as he came storming down the hall. I planted my feet and leaned back, holding Damien in place with my arms wrapped around his waist. “She’s lost her mind!”

“Codester! Just the man I wanted to see!” I managed, struggling to hold my unwilling fiance at bay. “Now that Damien confessed his love -”

“I did no such thing!”

“ - the wedding’s gonna be at Wrestlemania. I’m thinking eggshell and taupe -”

“Taupe?!” Damien actually stopped struggling and turned in my arms to look down at me. I let go of him and shrugged, straightening his robe for him.

“It’s a nice, muted color. A gentle, comforting purple -”

“It’s a sickly gray!” he argued, anger at my declaration of love completely forgotten.

“Not at all!” I scoffed. “It’s understated but elegant -”

“It washes me out! Absolutely no taupe -”

“Damien!” Cody came up beside us and latched a hand on his tag partner. He gave a start and looked down at the mustached man. “We have a match to get ready for, not a wedding!”

“I - of course,” he said, sounding flustered as he snapped back to reality. As he realized what we’d just been arguing about, the scowl came back to his face and he instantly distanced us. “Stay away from me you mind-controlling heathen!”

“We’ll discuss colors later,” I promised, grinning as Cody towed him down the hall. “How do you feel about sarcoline?”

“Absolutely not -”

“Damien!”

The second Rhodes Scholars were out of sight, I took off for the lockers. I’d been thinking about going easy tonight, but I mean Dames just made it so easy. There were a few superstars gathered at the other end, but none paid me any attention as I easily undid Damien’s lock and started to rifle.

“How do you know his combination?” Miz asked from behind me, actually sounding a little awestruck. I glanced back and gave a cheeky smile.

“He wrote it on the back of his keycard.”

“And how do you know -”

I pulled Damien’s card out of my back pocket and tapped it against the locker. Miz just snorted and shook his head.

“Your dedication to his torment is most impressive,” he told me, tipping his head to me as he headed out for his match. I took his compliment to heart as I stole a dry erase marker off the whiteboard. I scrawled The Wedding of Jamien Sandless 4/7/13 <3 on the door of his locker, and then ran to mine to grab a few dozen bags of confetti.

THIS is why I carry it with me, I mentally answered Nikki’s question from earlier, tossing a full bag all over his things before I began to rig another one on his locker door. I was more than a little relieved I hadn’t given Del Rio my whole stash.

Once set in place - ensuring he’d be showered in orange and yellow (not bad wedding colors, I noted) the moment he opened the door - I dusted my hands off and re-locked the locker before scampering away from the crime scene.

Except now that I’d meddled, I officially had nothing to do again. Should’ve stretched that out, I realized, huffing as I made my way aimlessly down the hall.

With Brie and Nikki in their meeting, and both John and Bryan busy with their own matches, I had no one to bother. And if I was agreeing not to get into too much trouble..

Ryback! A grin lit up my face; he’d said he was skipping Smackdown last week, but he should’ve been back today. Which meant it was high time for a Team Squeakback reunion! And hunting for him would at least keep me busy. Since the main locker room had been vacant of my giant friend, I started with all the other locker rooms I could find.

When those turned up empty of Ryback, I tried the meeting rooms and the parking garage. No big guy in sight. I circled the building again, inside and out, and when I finally reached the main break room again, I forced myself to go inside instead of circle again. I wasn’t doing anything useful, and I could at least stuff my face until my match.

Apparently, the big guy wasn’t at the show. Admittedly a little dejected, and completely bored now, I trudged to the buffet and filled my plate with as much food as I could, and then made my way to a table filled with a few familiar faces. Kofi looked up first and gave me a warm smile, scooting over to let me pull up a chair. As I dropped down, Sheamus looked up from his own food and gave me a toothy grin.

“Ay, Lass. What’s got you lookin’ so down?”

“Bored,” I huffed, propping my chin up on my hand. “Either of you seen Ryback?”

Both men shook their heads and I sulked a little more.

“What, we’re not good enough company?” Kofi teased, nudging me playfully. I gave him a smile as Sheamus added,

“Surprised you’re not out tormentin’ Rhodes Scholars.”

“Eh, not my fight,” I sighed, watching their match on the screen against Bryan and Kane. “Besides, Dames will have a heart attack when he sees his locker, and Cody will freak when he sees I superglued his duffel shut. Again.”

Kofi and Sheamus snorted and gave me bemused looks as I shrugged.

“Remind me never to get on your bad side,” Kofi hummed, shaking his head as he went back to eating. The three of us fell into companionable silence as we watched Raw. It was no surprise Team Hell No took away the win; man, Dames was gonna be pissed when he got back to the locker room.

In fact, I’d just moved to stand, ready to watch the chaos of his duffel bag unfold, when Mick Foley’s music hit. I froze and slowly sank back down, staring up at the tv. He’d been announced as a Hall of Fame inductee earlier today, but what the hell was he doing here tonight!?

He waved to the crowd as he grabbed a mic and climbed into the ring. My heart fell into my stomach as I watched him turn to address the crowd.

“Wait a sec,” I breathed, shifting forward in my seat as a memory clicked into place at the front of my mind. Sheamus glanced between myself and the TV, still shoveling beans into his mouth. “Foley’s doing a spot tonight? In the ring!?”

“That’s what it looks like,” Kofi said with a shrug. “Talking about his induction into the Hall of Fame.”

I was on my feet in an instant, Dean’s words from this morning racing through my head. Have a nice day. The thumbs up. He wasn’t being weird with me - he’d been warning me.

Shit.

“Jamie?” Sheamus tried, both men eyeing me cautiously now.

“Shield are gonna jump him,” I managed; just as Foley’s music hit, I shot out of the break room.Kofi and Sheamus called after me to wait, but we didn’t have time. They weren’t even dressed for a fight, let alone a full on assault from the Shield. Who knew how long we had before the boys made their appearance. As I wove through backstage, I kept my eye on the screen. Foley was just climbing into the ring, waving to the crowd.

Almost there, I gasped to myself, skidding around the corner and seeing Gorilla at the end of the hall. Just as I reached the first step, Shield’s music hit. The crowd was raucous, booing wildly just as I burst onto the stage.

I didn’t waste any time. The boys were moving faster than I’d ever seen them, already at the bottom of the stairs by the time I slid into the ring. Foley met my eyes for a brief second, but immediately went back to looking around as the boys hopped the barricade.

“Get back,” I urged, snagging his wrist and tugging him to me. “They’re too much.”

“I’ve handled worse -”

“I know,” I told him, managing to get him behind me as the boys climbed onto the apron. “But trust me when I say a Shield beat-down is not what you need today.”

Seth and Roman were on either side of me, with Dean straight ahead. Except this was Shield Dean. Not goofy-smile Dean I’d been bantering with before the show. This was the Dean that would jump me and mercilessly kick my ass, and then hold me down when his friends did the same.

This was the Dean I hadn’t known I’d been missing.

“Get out of the ring,” I all but begged, backing us into the corner as the boys slipped through the ropes, eyes burning into Foley and I. I put one hand back to Foley to push him out, and held the other towards the Shield. The boys gave dangerous smirks; Dean gave a subtle nod, and the three of them paused for a heartbeat.

The boys moved for Foley, so I dove at Dean.

He wasn’t ready for the impact and I actually knocked him onto his back. He let out a huff, and somehow his hands found my waist. For a brief moment we both froze, caught in another compromising position just a few day later.

The ghost of an actual smile flickered across his face before I was being hauled up by his brothers. For once, this was exactly what I’d planned. My attack had been enough to distract Shield, and Foley had made his escape. Of course, now I was outnumbered and in a very compromising position, but what was new

Roman had a tight grip around me, and I used it to my advantage. I clung to his arms and let myself hang off him as I kicked out at Seth. My feet caught him in the chest and he stumbled back, leaving just Roman and I. The Powerhouse realized how compromising my position was, and he went to shift his hold on me.

Making myself as heavy as I could, I dropped down and pulled his arm with me. He stumbled, and I skittered us back to the ropes. He let out a snarl of frustration and tried to grab me again, and I lowered myself down. As hard as I could I drove my shoulder into his stomach, and actually slammed him into the turnbuckle.

He let out a wheeze as he tried to push me off; I reached back and, almost on a whim, hooked a loop on his vest around the rope. Roman was, for all intents and purposes, tied to the ring. He went to stand and jerked back down. Surprise burst over his face as he stared at me in disbelief; I gave another cheeky grin.

Hands scrabbled at my shirt and arms, tugging me back off the trapped Samoan. Seth managed to grab my shoulder and spun me to face him. He snagged my arms and went to back me up towards Dean, but he forgot just how close we all were.

Seth stumbled on Roman’s outstretched leg and knocked into Dean. Dean slumped against the ropes at my side, and I slid myself towards him. Seth, now blocked by Dean and unable to keep his hold, actually fell forward trying to regain his balance.

So I hooked my hands in his vest and threw us back as hard as I could.

Seth tripped over Dean and flipped over the ropes, out of the ring, and the crowd was on their feet cheering. Roman, still tangled, lunged for me again and was snapped back to the turnbuckle.

Dean made the mistake of looking back at the big dog, thoroughly confused at what he’d just seen, and I capitalized. Grabbing Dean by the front of his vest, I ran backwards and pulled him with me, then spun and threw him at the ropes. Dean let out a yelp of surprise as he flipped over the top and tumbled out right after Seth.

Oh my god, I had one-upped the Shield! I let out a laugh of surprise and turned to Roman. He let out a snarl and threw his body forward; the strap of his vest snapped and he came barreling towards me.

I planted my left foot and spun fast, throwing my right leg out into the hardest buzzsaw kick I could muster. My foot caught Roman perfectly in the chest and het let out a shout of surprise as he flew back and landed hard on his ass.

The crowd was deafening, chanting Lawless! as I dropped and pinned Roman to the mat. He tried to sit up and I pummeled him hard and fast with relentless forearms. All he could do was protect his face; I seriously had a one-up on Roman Reigns!

But of course, this was the Shield, and I was just one person. I couldn’t keep all three down by myself. I felt the mat shift seconds before I was tackled off Roman; Seth landed on me, and though I was able to knock him off, Dean was on me a heartbeat later.

The time for fun was over; I’d pissed them all off and I was gonna pay for making a mockery of the Shield. I tried at first to kick out at the boys as they all piled on me, punching and kneeing me in the sides and stomach, but they were overwhelming. As they stood to start kicking, I had to give up my attack and protect myself.

I curled in on my side, folding my arms up over my head and burrowing down into my legs to try and deflect their kicks and punches. A boot caught me in the middle of the back and I let out a squeak of pain, involuntarily lurching back and unraveling myself. Another boot caught me in the collarbone and I yelped, trying desperately to skitter away now.

The crowd began to cheer louder, and then a blur of red shot over me and literally plowed Roman and Dean into the far ropes. I scrambled to sit up and let out a laugh of relief – Team Squeakback was together again!

Seth faltered, looking between Ryback and I to decide where to attack, and I capitalized. The aches in my body rolled off as adrenaline ran through me; I felt invincible now, with Ryback at my side. I sprung to my feet and as Seth turned to face me, I leapt up and arched back, locking my ankles around his head and throwing him with my momentum. Unprepared for the Hurricanrana, he flailed and landed hard on his side, letting out a groan.

Dean was just getting to his feet, moving to help Roman as Ryback relentlessly pounded him into the mat. I ran at Dean and threw myself into a Thesz press, knocking him flat on his back and straddling him to the mat. He blinked up at me for a second, almost in a daze, and I faltered. The forearm I’d meant to throw at him hesitated for just a heartbeat as I stared down at arguably the most attractive man in the ring.

His soft blue eyes blinked up at me and again, the ghost of a smile twisted over his lips. The hand he’d brought up to flip me off of him faltered on my hip, and he gave a squeeze, his thumb brushing over my hip bone for just a second. I couldn’t move; I was transfixed by Dean Ambrose, and I had no idea what to do.

Which resulted in me getting hauled back by Seth and thrown into the sloppiest german suplex I’d ever been a part of. It was enough to let Dean get to his feet, though, and in seconds they’d swarmed Ryback.

I shoved to my feet and dove onto the pile of men – not nearly as attractive as that sounded – and wrapped my arm around someone’s neck. Which, of course, was Dean. I hadn’t meant to find him again, but here we were, tangled up once more. I apparently wasn’t that heavy, though, because Dean stood up surprisingly easily with me hanging off his back and reached around to pull me off him.

He snagged the loop of my pants and – as I didn’t want those getting ripped off – I allowed myself to get pulled around to his front. He maneuvered me around and wrapped a deliciously strong arm around my neck, holding me flush to his chest as he dragged me to the ropes.

I knew he felt the hitch in my struggle; so maybe I’d been taken off-guard by the hold. Whatever. It’d happen to anyone! But of course the cocky bastard had to lean forward and brush his lips against my ear as he breathed,

“Really glad you’re not Foley.”

I gave an unexpected laugh and felt Dean chuckle too. Well if this didn’t look bad… I pretended to cough against Dean’s hold and really hoped I played that off well, because laughing while you’re being subdued by an opponent really didn’t fly in wrestling.

As Dean reached the ropes, moving to throw me over and onto the steel steps, the crowd erupted again. Dean and I whipped around to look up the ramp just as Randy leapt onto the apron.

“Jay, drop!”

I let out a squeak of surprise and barely ducked in time to avoid the forearm Randy threw. Dean stumbled from the hit and his hold dropped; I fell to my knees and rolled aside just as Seth dove over me. Randy intercepted him easily and threw him through the ropes as Dean stumbled back.

Roman, shoving Ryback aside, turned and barreled for Randy. He ducked into the ring and intercepted the Powerhouse with a shoulder to the gut, driving him into the ropes.

Ryback had just gotten to his feet as Dean pulled me to mine; he wasn’t finished with me just yet. Except I was ready this time, and when he went to loop his arm around me, I turned to face him and slammed my hands into his chest. He bumped back against the turnbuckle and let out a huff of breath, staring at me in surprise. I gave a smirk and turned to help Randy.

The Viper gave a hard uppercut to Roman and threw him at Ryback, who dumped him over the top rope. Randy glanced at me just as I felt an arm loop across the front of my hips and pull me back. I heard Dean chuckle, and I saw the possessive fire light up Randy’s face again. He let out a snarl, and to Dean’s surprise I pitched myself forward and down against his arm. He surged forward and fell right into another relentless uppercut from Randy.

Dean fell hard onto his back and Randy shot forward, managing to catch me before I hit the mat. He pulled me up to his chest and gave me a quick smile before turning and pushing me back to stand between him and Ryback.

And – holy crap – it was three-on-one for Dean now! Randy stalked forward, eyeing Dean with cold fury as Ryback and I spread out to keep him circled. Dean, of course, found me out of the other two, and rolled to his knees.

He surged to grab me and it was Ryback that intercepted him this time. Easily, the Big Guy flipped Dean onto his shoulders and stomped around the ring. Randy and I watched with grins as Ryback dropped Dean into a shell-shock. Dean yelped in pain and rolled for the apron as Ryback jumped to his feet.

He let out a snarl and dove after his prey, but the boys were fast in pulling Dean out of the ring. The three of them backed up as Ryback leaned over the ropes, snarling at them. Randy and I shared a quick grin and came up on either side of the Big Guy, grinning at the retreat of the Shield.

We stayed in the ring, pumping up the fans and high-fiving each other until Shield were completely gone. Once the coast was clear, Ryback led the way out of the ring. I vaulted the ropes, and then hopped off the apron, waiting for Randy to climb out.

“Imagine my surprise when I come lookin’ for you, and Kingston tells me you’re out taking on the Shield,” he murmured, bumping his arm into mine. My heart skipped half a beat; he’d been looking for me?

“You really expect anything less?” I pointed out, and when he glanced at me I offered a wide smile. He laughed in spite of himself and slung his arm over my shoulders to lead me backstage. Once we came down the steps at gorilla, though, Ryback caught my hand and tugged me back.

“Look, I uh, I wanted to say I’m sorry, Squeak,” the big guy said, face apologetic as he smiled sadly down at me. “I was in a bad spot after that match… I wasn’t myself. I’m sorry for brushing you off like that.”

“Hey, I get it,” I promised, offering an assuring smile. “It was a shitty night, and you needed some time to cool off.” My eyes flicked to Randy, hoping he caught the double-meaning. “I get it. No harm done.”

As Ryback roped me into a hug, I caught the small smile that crossed Randy’s face. He ducked his head as the big guy and I pulled apart. Ryback squeezed my shoulder and headed off down the hall as I turned to my blushing boyfriend.

I expected him to brush off the sweet moment we were having, as he had in the past, but instead he reached out and took my hand. Not seeming to care who saw, he pulled me down the hall after him, hands linked, straight to his locker room. He held the door for me and only let go of my hand to rest his on my lower back, guiding me inside.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, Randy grabbed my waist and turned me to face him. His face was wrapped in a soft, almost shy expression, one I’d never see on him before. Tentatively, his arms encircled my waist and pulled me to him as he slowly dipped down.

He kissed me soft and slow, like he was kissing me for the first time. As my hands slid up his chest, he leaned into my touch, dipping me back. I felt my heart skip a beat as my eyes fluttered shut; this side of Randy, this was… unexpected.

He turned and slowly backed us towards the bench, continuing the slow kisses. As he sank down, he moved his hands to his hips and pulled me with him. I straddled his lap, knees bracing on the bench as his arms went back around my waist and pulled me close.

He tilted his head for better access and brushed his tongue over my lips. I parted my own instantly, and our tongues brushed against each other. Randy moaned softly as we pulled back for a breath; on a whim, I nipped at his lower lip and he dropped his head back, a groan rolling out of him.

Without warning he dove forward, lips attaching to my neck. I tipped my head to the side, giving him better access as I drew in a shaky breath. His lips trailed up to my jaw, nipping lightly and making me moan louder.

I turned and caught his lips with mine again, kissing back fervently. His hands slid to hold my hips, and as I went to move even closer, Randy pushed me back ever so slightly. I froze in surprise and pulled back, staring down at him.

“Randy?”

“Look, if we keep going, I won’t be able to stop myself,” he said, voice rough and a few octaves lower than normal. I felt my face blush as he gave me a once-over. “You drive me crazy, but like I told you, things are changing.”

He stood easily, holding me up by my hips. He moved me back and I let my legs drop so he could step back. He looked me over again, bit his lip, and shook his head as he turned away.

“You’re stopping it?” I asked, still a little shocked he’d pulled back. Randy nodded and blew out a breath; he reached down and adjusted his trunks, clearing his throat.

“Trust me, it’s not easy. But I told you, Jay. I respect you.”

My heart tightened at his words, and I felt a tremor of happiness pass over me. He held back, even though he didn’t want to. He was respecting my boundaries, and I hadn’t even needed to ask. As Randy turned to me, I rushed to him and threw my arms around his neck, pulling him down into a hug.

“Thank you Randy,” I said softly, pressing a kiss to his cheek. He hugged me tight to him and then dipped to catch my lips again. It felt different this time; there was a sense of security. For the first time, I didn’t feel any pressure to go further, and I didn’t have the worry in the back of my head that Randy would get carried away.

I trusted the kiss this time, and it made all the difference. As we began to pick up the pace again, Randy pulled back and gave me a dry look.

“What?” I asked innocently. He narrowed his eyes and carefully untangled himself from me.

“You’re not helping the situation, Lawless.”

My face flushed as we stepped apart, but I couldn’t help the smile toying with my lips. Randy chuckled and went to his bag, digging out his clothes for his shower. The clock above the lockers read half past ten; I had places to be.

When he saw me heading for the door, he motioned towards the chair in the corner of the room.

“You can stay,” he started; I pointed to the monitor above the lockers, broadcasting the match with Cesaro up next. He stared at my picture, surprised for a second, and then made to grab his shirt. “Oh shit, I didn’t even know you had a match. Let me come out with you.”

“I’ll be just fine,” I promised, giving a smile. “Take your shower. I’ll be done in like ten minutes anyways.”

“You sure, baby?” he pressed, raising a brow. I let the nickname melt my heart just a tad as I crossed back to him and tugged him down for a quick kiss.

“I’m sure. I can handle the Swiss Superman.”

“Be careful, alright?” he reminded me as I backed for the door. I gave him a wink and then ducked out of the locker room. I took off in a jog towards gorilla, and rounded the corner to see Cesaro already waiting. He hoisted the US belt a little higher up and gave me a wide grin.

“Ms. Lawless, so good of you to join us.”

“Sorry. Got a little sidetracked,” I told him, running a hand through my hair and returning the smile. He stepped aside and swept his hand towards the steps of gorilla.

“Ladies first.”

Well, alright then! A polite opponent, that was something I could get behind. I gave him a quick nod and hopped up the steps as my music hit. The crowd erupted, and as I danced across the stage, chants of LAWLESS! LAWLESS! LAWLESS! broke out around me. I tapped hands as I made my way down the ramp.

At the bottom, I turned to the crowd, gave a quick salute, then hopped onto the apron and vaulted over the top rope. I scampered across the ring and then turned, falling back to lean on the ropes as Cesaro made his own entrance.

As he got in the ring, he handed off his belt to the ref and then turned to face me. As the bell rang to start the match, I took a chance and held my hand out. Cesaro chuckled and looked around at the crowd as they cheered. With a shrug, he reached out, took my hand, and gave it a shake.

With mutual nods of respect, we pulled back and then dove forward, locking up. The chivalry stopped here, apparently. Faster than I could move, Cesaro dropped his hold on me and went to a knee. He scooped me up, one arm around my leg and the other hooking up over the back of my neck, and hoisted me onto his shoulders as he stood up.

Just as I acclimated to the hold and tried to twist free, he dropped to his knees and flipped me hard onto my back. The breath left me in a sharp burst and I struggled to get it back; I was putty in Cesaro’s hands.

He stood fast and caught my wrist, pulling me to my feet as I fought to breathe. Sheesh, he was fast! Faster than I’d expected, that was for sure. I stumbled with him across the mat, and he used my lack of balance against me, catching an ankle and letting me fall back onto the mat again.

He still had a hold on my wrist, though, and I used that to balance myself as I rolled back onto my shoulders, then surged forward and leapt to my feet. Cesaro actually looked impressed, up until I ripped my arm free and jumped (yes, jumped. I’m short, okay?) up to put him in a headlock.

I let my weight pull him down and then I skittered back to the ropes, letting us fall against them for momentum before I ran forward and pulled him along with me. As we ran across the ring, Cesaro shoved me forward and broke the hold; I kept going and bounced off the far ropes, then turned to hit him with a Thesz press.

Cesaro dropped so instead I leapt over him, running and bouncing off the other ropes. As I turned, though, Cesaro was waiting. He caught me in the beginnings of an arm drag, but my momentum pushed me into an easy reversal. I swapped our hold, but instead of throwing him to the ground - let’s be real, Cesaro was all muscle - I shoved him back and then ran off the ropes behind me to catch him in another Thesz press.

Cesaro, again waiting for me, met me in the middle of the ring and caught me in a hard clothesline to the chest. I dropped onto my back, a little dazed, and again fought for breath. God, what was this guy made of?!

Cesaro turned and then moved to the ropes, ready to bounce off them and drop for the pin. As he turned to face me, I leapt up and caught his arm in an arm drag. This time, momentum on my side, I let myself drop and twist. Cesaro flew in an arc over me and landed hard on his back.

He recovered quicker than I expected, though. By the time I was on my feet he was ready for me. He grabbed hold of my arm, lifted me up into the air, and then dropped into a crouch on one knee. I fell back-first over his bent leg and let out a squeak of pain as I dropped to the ground beside him.

Damn, this guy was freakishly good.

Still gasping for breath - again - I rolled myself to the edge of the ring and used the ropes to pull me up. Just as I’d finally started breathing normal again, though, Cesaro was back. The two of us went at it for nearly five minutes. Back and forth, slamming each other into the mat just long enough to catch our breaths. By the fifth or sixth takedown, I was weak on my legs just trying to keep myself upright. Cesaro, whom I was convinced was literally superman, was back on me instantly.

He shoved me hard into the ropes in front of us, and as I stumbled back he used the momentum to lift me up onto his shoulder, ready to slam me back down again. My self preservation kicked in and I scrambled back with all I had left, sliding down his back and landing on my feet behind him.

Cesaro was just as surprised as the crowd; I took advantage of his hesitation. Like Bryan had taught me, I dove forward and locked my arms around his waist. As he swayed, I fell onto my back and dragged him with me, heaving him back into a small suplex. His shoulders hit the mat and I rolled out from under him, letting my hold around his waist drop to his legs.

I locked my arms in place and leaned back, pinning Cesaro’s shoulders to the mat. Just as Cesaro got his composure back to try and break out, the ref shouted three! The bell rang and my music blasted the arena. I let my hold on Cesaro drop as I fell forward onto my knees, out of breath and worn through.

The ref came to my side and reached down, taking my hand and pulling me to my feet. I let him practically hold me up as he threw my arm in the air and pointed at me.

“Here’s your winner… Jamie Lawless!”

As Cesaro slowly got to his feet, I pulled out of the ref’s hold and turned to face him. Cesaro rose cautiously, wiping the sweat off his brow as he watched me approach. Giving a smile, I stuck my hand out to him. He looked genuinely surprised, but took my gesture either way. As we shook, he leaned in and said,

“Not bad, Ms. Lawless. Not bad at all.”

We traded respectful nods as Cesaro took his belt back and ducked out of the ring. I actually started to follow him, until a little voice in my head noted, Shield didn’t show their faces. And I mean, come on. I couldn’t just leave it be.

I knelt in the corner and motioned to a cameraman for a mic. He tossed it to me and I stood slowly, strolling back to the middle of the ring. The crowd cheered me on as I lifted it up slowly.

“I just wanted to personally thank the Shield for being too coward to come and try to ruin another one of my matches.”

The crowd roared at my words, clearly not expecting anything like that. I grinned to myself and let them die down as I began to pace.

“But, you know, after that fun little surprise match earlier, I find myself a little eager for more.” God, I could see Dean’s smirk in my head. “So what d’you say, Houston? You ready to see the Shield man up and come face me in the ring?”

As the crowd chanted YES! YES! YES!, I scanned the stairs. So far, nothing. I knew they had to be watching, so where the hell were they? Had I not coaxed enough?

“Let’s go, boys! Come down to the ring. I’m asking nicely!” With a smirk to the cameras, I shrugged and added, “come get me… if you think you can handle me.”

The crowd was absolutely wild, on their feet chanting a mix between YES!, SHIELD, and LAWLESS as I paced the ring. After nearly a minute, I sighed and shrugged to the Universe.

“Sorry, guys. Guess the Shield learned their lesson earlier today. They know better than to mess with me!”

I silently thanked the stage manager for hitting my music again as I threw up a peace sign and then dropped and rolled out of the ring. Though I waved, smiled, and tagged hands on my way back up the ramp, I couldn’t lie. I was a little disappointed the boys hadn’t come out to face me.

Hands fisted into my shirt the second I got backstage; I let out a squeak of alarm as Dean towed me off the steps of gorilla and down a side hall. Roman and Seth were waiting for us, and the second Dean’s hold on me dropped, the three of them surrounded me.

“Sure had a lot t’say out there, little Finch,” Dean hummed, stepping closer. Roman and Seth closed in, their chests pressing against my back and arms. “Wanna repeat any of that?”

I blinked up at him, honestly surprised to see them around me. As I glanced around at them, getting my thoughts back in order, Roman chuckled and shook his head.

“Why so quiet, little girl?”

“I think she’s scared,” Seth goaded, stepping a hint closer to me and crossing his arms triumphantly. I scoffed and gave him a dismissive once-over before looking over at Dean and Roman.

“So what, you three can’t come out and face me in the ring, but you can jump me backstage?” I challenged; okay, so I was kind of itching for a fight. It’d been a relatively calm night! I needed some action in my life.

“We can’t be called to the ring like your pets,” Seth sneered. “We don’t work for you.”

“You’re right,” I agreed, tsking myself and shaking my head. “What was I thinking? I should’ve known Heyman wouldn’t let his dogs off their leash.”

Roman’s lips twitched up in amusement, and Dean stifled a snort, but apparently I’d hit a sore spot with Seth.

“Watch your mouth, sweetheart. Don’t talk about shit you don’t know.”

“Oh, I know plenty, Oreo,” I shot back, enjoying the snarl at his unwanted nickname. “Like how you three were seriously stupid enough to sell your souls to Heyman. What, he promise you fame and fortune?” Seth’s face slowly started to twist into fury. “Or maybe you each get a special overnight celebration with Punk, hm? To thank you for all the ass-kissing you do every week -”

“Shut the fuck up,” he demanded, and I gave him a shit-eating grin.

“Sorry, unlike you, I don’t take my orders from a whiny little he-bitch -”

He surged forward and slammed his hands on my shoulders, making me stumble back into the wall. My breath left me in a gasp; after all that back and forth with Cesaro, the impact hurt more than I’d been expecting. I couldn’t recover fast enough to block the punch he threw.

Dean did that for me.

His arm shot between us and caught Seth’s wrist. He surged forward and shoved Seth hard into Roman, snarling something under his breath I couldn’t make out. As Seth moved for me again, Dean took a step forward, angling himself between the two of us. I couldn’t see the look he gave Seth, but whatever it was didn’t go over well.

“Really, man? You gonna let her talk to us like that?”

Dean didn’t reply, instead turning back to me. As Seth went to step around him, it was Roman this time that held him back. Dean didn’t look apologetic, but he didn’t look furious like Seth. He moved a little more between us and leaned forward to tower over me. He almost looked exasperated.

“Finch, I know you ain’t gonna listen, but I’m tellin’ you. Quit gettin’ in the middle of our shit. All this? It ain’t your fight,” he drawled, hand coming up to play with my hair, curling it around his fingers before he gently tucked it behind my ear. “We got our own agenda, our own rules. You don’t gotta get mixed up in the crooked politics.”

“And I told you,” I said, taking a step forward, leaving only inches between us; his eyes flickered to my lips for just a heartbeat. “You leave my friends alone, and we won’t have a problem.”

“We don’t negotiate -” Seth cut off and let out a yelp as he was hauled backwards. Except this time, it wasn’t Roman. The boys whirled around as Randy surged forward. He elbowed Dean out of the way and turned on his heel, back to me, heading off Roman’s oncoming attack.

The Shield regrouped around Randy, but he didn’t budge. He stayed between myself and them, one hand back to keep me close, the other hand balled in a fist as he readied for a fight. The boys in front of us shared dark looks.

“Back off. Now,” Randy growled. Dean let out a humorless laugh and moved to stand toe-to-toe with my boyfriend.

“If I had it my way,” he began slowly, lips twisting up into a dangerous smile, “you would be in pieces. Scattered around this arena like the bag a’ horse shit you are.”

Randy let out a cold laugh and stood a little straighter; Dean was just a hint shorter, and Randy took full advantage. He smirked down at Dean and rolled his shoulders back in invitation.

“Let’s go then, Ambrose. Take me out.”

Okay, why was this oddly enticing? There had to be something wrong with me. Why did I find it so hot having my boyfriend face off against Dean? Maybe because it was hot. Sue me. Dean was giving Randy his signature pissed off smile, soft blue eyes burning with something not far from hatred. His whole body was tense, massive arms flexing as he clenched and unclenched his fists…

And Randy, damn. He was in his wrestling trunks and one of his shirts that was just a hint too small, clinging to his muscular form. I could see the muscles of his powerful shoulders rolling as he moved back and forth, like he just couldn’t contain his vicious impulses. His lithe body was coiled tight, ready to jump at any moment.

I couldn’t handle the two of them like this.

As if the universe finally heard my silent pleas, a loud noise down the hall made both men jump and turn their attention to it. I took my chance and surged forward, snagging Randy’s hand. He let me tug him back to me, and didn’t fight when I started pulling him down the hall.

“We’re not done here, Ambrose,” he threw out before we rounded the corner. Dean caught my eye at the last second and threw me a wink before he was out of sight. Again, I found myself wondering if he’d known Randy was watching us.

“Jay -”

“They found me this time!” I defended; Randy stopped walking and turned to look down at me, unamused.

“Come get me… if you think you can handle me,” he mocked, and I scoffed. “Seriously. I thought you said you were going light on the troublemaking today -”

“Out of the ring,” I clarified; he actually rolled his eyes. “And besides, we handled that.”

“You didn’t handle anything,” argued a voice from behind me; surprised, I turned to see John frowning down at me. “Orton’s right. You said you’d behave -” I opened my mouth and he gave me a harsh look, “and you know that meant both in and out of the ring.”

Randy, looking far too amused at my scolding, started to back down the hall. I widened my eyes at him, silently begging him to stay.

“Oh, you can handle this,” he assured, and then his smirk widened. “Just like you handled the Shield.”

Oh, I was gonna kill him.

“You told me you were gonna behave,” John started, sounding like my dad. I slowly turned and smiled nervously up at him.

“For the most part I did.”

“Swiping Sandow’s key card?”

“To be fair, I did that weeks ago. Doesn’t count.”

He folded his arms in challenge.

“Confetti in his locker?”

“You said to keep it to a minimum,” I pointed out, crossing my arms back.

“Covering the man in colored paper is minimum?”

“That’s barely a warm-up,” I scoffed, and John’s face again settled into an unamused frown. “I could have used glitter. My future husband should consider himself lucky.”

John’s frown of annoyance slowly turned into confusion; apparently he hadn’t heard about our ‘declarations of love’. I gave a tight smile. No way he was knowing about it now…

“Look. You’re technically an adult,” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t have a right to tell you how to live your life. But as someone who’s very close to the person I care about most, I feel a sense of responsibility for you, kid.”

“Feel free to ignore responsibility. I do.”

“Jamie, you’re going places here. You know that. Just don’t get yourself mixed up with things…” he paused, and his eyes flicked over the direction Randy had just gone. “Or people that could drag you down.”

I felt my hackles raise at his insinuation. Despite the fact Randy was my boyfriend, he was also still my friend. And judging him on the reputation others set up for him? That wasn’t right.

“Randy’s a good friend,” I said simply but forcefully. John had an argument on the tip of his tongue, but at the look on my face, he pressed his lips together and nodded.

“He’s a good friend to you,” he agreed, making a point not to fully agree with me. “I just worry about you, alright?”

“I really do appreciate your concern,” I told him, falling into step with him on our way to the locker room. “But I promise, I know what I’m doing. And I’ll play it a little safer for you.”

“And Brie,” he added, giving me a knowing look as he held the locker room door for me. I ducked under his arm and turned to give him an exasperated look.

“She said she’s loosening up -”

“And we both know she’s as relaxed as a mouse sitting on a trap.”

“Fair point,” I sighed, snagging my change of clothes from my locker. I turned to him, walking backwards towards the showers as I added, “No promises on holding off from Damien, though.”

John just laughed and shook his head, throwing me a wink in agreement.

As I cleaned up from the night and let myself unwind in the shower, I caught sight of a bruise on my upper arm. Frowning, I gave an experimental poke. Ouch, okay. Fresh bruise, I sighed, and then began to think over the match from Cesaro.

He’d never gripped me by the arms, and I hadn’t gone into the turnbuckle at all. But these hadn’t been there before the show. So when…

Randy, I realized, going still under the water as I went back to our confrontation earlier. I hadn’t realized how hard he’d been holding me. Or how he wouldn’t let go. Or how he punched the locker…

He was just angry, though. Heat of the moment. I had a temper too, and if Randy had been badgering me like I was doing to him, I would’ve lost my cool. Right? As bad as it sounded, he’d apologized, and hurting me hadn’t been his intention. Plus, we’d talked it out and he’d even held back tonight. He was improving. One little slip of anger didn’t negate all the progress we’d made tonight.

Right?

I shut off the water before I got lost in my thoughts. Dressing quickly, I made a point of draping my ring uniform over my shoulders to hide the darkening bruises on my arms. Thankfully, John was too busy talking to me about his match as he packed up to see as I casually slid into my hoodie as fast as I could.

Randy wasn’t a bad guy. He really wasn’t. He’d made a mistake, and I wouldn’t let him take any shit for reacting to the frustration I’d brought him. It wasn’t a big deal, and they’d fade in a few days anyways.

The two of us had finally had a good night, and I wasn’t letting it get ruined.

Dean

“You gonna have an attitude with me all night, or can we just move past this?” Seth snarked from the front seat, twisting to look back at Dean. He pointedly folded his arms a little tighter over his chest and burrowed further into his hoodie. “I said I was sorry, okay!?”

“Fuck off,” Dean growled, earning an exasperated sigh from Roman. The samoan didn’t cut in just yet, though, and Dean was glad. He didn’t give a fuck if he was bein’ petty. Seth had crossed a line, an’ if he didn’t see a problem with it, Dean didn’t see a problem with being a dick.

“Dude. She just got to me, okay? I wasn’t gonna hurt her -”

“That why you shoved her into the wall?”

“She’s a fucking wrestler, man! You’ve done worse to her in the ring -”

“In the ring,” Dean cut in, sitting up. Roman’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, bracing for their collision. “You went too far -”

“I pushed her! You fucking tackled her that one time, and then crawled all over her! And what about grabbing her shirt and pulling her around tonight, huh?”

“That was different -”

“It was not -”

“How many times we gotta do this, huh?” Roman barked, swerving the SUV over onto the shoulder of the road and throwing it into park. He fixed a heated glare on Seth, then turned in his seat to do the same to Dean. Both stared up at him, wide-eyed. “For fuck’s sake. Seth, you didn’t need to push her. Dean, all he did was fuckin’ push her. She’s fine.”

“Well this situation ain’t -”

“There ain’t no situation, Dean!” Roman practically roared, gripping at his hair and then throwing his hands up. “Seth was a dick, but he didn’t fuckin’ break her in half! She’s fine.” As Seth went to cut in, Roman jammed a threatening finger his direction. “Don’t fuckin’ start with me, Seth. I swear to God. I’m gonna throw both your asses out if I hear one more goddamn thing…”

He irritably turned back around in his seat and threw the car back into drive, muttering to himself as they got back to the trip. Seth huddled into the seat, mumbling sorry to Dean as he flipped his hood up.

“S’all good,” Dean muttered back, catching the warning look from Roman in the rearview mirror. He’d play nice for now. At least until they were out of a confined space an’ he got his own room key, so Roman couldn’t lock him out. Again.

So maybe he was a little protective of his girl. Fuckin’ sue him. Seth didn’t need to put his fuckin’ hands on her. Had no fuckin’ right. For reasons he didn’t quite get, it made him see red. It was one thing for Dean to ‘tackle’ her or get rough with her.

Seth, Orton, Cesaro, Barrett… The fuckers that thought they could just do with her what they wanted? Nah, he wasn’t havin’ that. It wasn’t flyin’ while he was around. So she wasn’t dating him. Didn’t mean he couldn’t keep an eye on her, right?

Of course he knew she was okay. She took that suplex from Seth onto the announce table without breaking. Took that suicide dive off the ladders, an’ wasn’t too worse for wear. Didn’t mean Seth shovin’ her like that over some stupid comment was okay. It was the whole respect thing. She was his girl. He wouldn’t go shovin’ any of Seth’s girls.

Dean shut his eyes and tried to force the possessiveness down. ‘Cause in the end she wasn’t his and there were limits.

Like he couldn’t follow after her an’ Orton and pull her away from him like he wanted to. He’d see the bruises on her arms. He’d heard the rumors about she an’ Orton goin’ at it earlier. He didn’t have proof, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew it’d been him. And it just pissed him off so fuckin’ much -

Dean’s thoughts cut off in his head when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He glanced to the front seat; Roman was still drivin’, and Seth was already snoring. He pulled it out quickly, heart in his throat, and yes. It was from Finch.

Don’t think I’m done intimidating you.

Dean grinned to himself as he typed out his reply.

is that what u were doin?

How the fuck could one text from her settle his anger? He’d been seein’ red since the confrontation, ready to rip into anyone that pissed him off, and now… he actually felt himself fuckin’ relax when she replied.

I saw you and your boys shaking in your boots.

ur dreamin darlin.

About to be. I just had to text you before I went to sleep to remind you that 1, you’re not as scary as you think. And 2, don’t keep any of your stuff with Seth’s for a few weeks.

Warmth spread through Dean, realizing she’d purposely texted him as she was falling asleep just to mess around with him. And to his surprise, he felt tired himself. He settled further down in the seat and texted back,

what r u gonna do?

I’ve got some sweet, glittery revenge planned for Princess Sparkle. You in?

Dean snorted and shook his head, feeling himself dozing off already.

im with u, darlin.

Excellent. We’ll plan more tomorrow. Goodnight Dean!

night finch. sleep tight.

For the first time in months, Dean fell asleep sober, an actual goddamn smile on his face.