Canary and the Coal Mine

Okay, this just wasn't fair.

Months working out this early with Nikki, and we'd never, not once, seen any member of the Shield. And now Dean Ambrose had the audacity to be working out in front of us.

In just a muscle shirt.

Kill me now.

He was flat on his back, body tense and flexing from the strain of benching the weight. He lowered it slowly to his chest, pausing for a moment before he pushed back up gracefully. His long, muscled legs braced against the floor; his toned stomach moving against the thin fabric of his shirt. His curls were tucked under a black beanie, and as he pressed the weight up again, his tongue actually poked out between his teeth for concentration.

My entire brain was scrambled. I couldn't think straight to save a life. I had no idea how long I sat there, mesmerized by his rippling arms, glinting from the sheen of sweat and accentuating the curve of his muscles. God, he was gorgeous.

That man could bench me any day, I thought to myself, shaking my head as I turned to follow my best friend into the gym. Nikki's dark brown eyes glinted in amusement, inches from mine.

I let out a squeak and jumped back, clutching at my stuttering heart. She lifted one brow in question and my entire face erupted in another blush. Apparently, that hadn’t just been said in my head. Fantastic.

"I’m sorry, what was that?” she asked with a cocky grin, crossing her arms over her chest triumphantly.

“I said, uh, I said the bench is uh, it’s dry,” I mumbled as my face went an even deeper shade of red. Nikki just laughed and looked back at Dean.

“Oh come on. Just admit you were checking out Dean Ambrose.”

“No way!” I squeaked, sounding way more defensive than I should have been. Nikki followed me – still grinning – as I ducked around her and headed further inside.

“Okay, then who were you drooling over?”

God, where was Damien Sandow when I needed him?! The other superstars scattered around weren’t anyone I needed my best friend spreading rumors about, so I just cleared my throat and lied unconvincingly,

“I was just admiring the layout, y’know? It’s pretty spacious in here.”

“Oh, ” she began, eyes glinting mischievously. Without warning she turned in Dean’s direction and practically yelled, “you’re just admiring the layout –”

“Nicole!” I gasped, lunging forward and wrapping a hand over her mouth. Dean hooked the barbell on the bench and sat up, slowly, eyes on Nikki and I as a smirk took over his face. If my face got any hotter I’d spontaneously combust. My best friend just giggled, thankfully allowing me to tow her into a more secluded part of the gym.

“You are so bad,” she giggled as we tossed our bags down. Our sparring practices were long overdue; between my debut and her new relationship, we’d both neglected our training.

“Speaking of bad,” I segued desperately as we began to circle one another. “I never did get to hear about your hot date with the Doctor of Thuganomics.”

She let out a laugh made a face as we locked up.

“God, I hate that nickname,” she groaned, letting out a huff as I twisted her into a half-nelson. “But it was really nice. Like… after he picked me up from our room, he brought me down to this limo. He’d gotten my favorite wine and he just spent the whole drive asking me about myself.”

“Awe, what a romantic little thug,” I cooed, letting her break out to catch her breath; I saw her face light up in a blush and I grinned. I loved seeing my best friend happy.

“Right? He really is. And then he took me to this like, five star restaurant. He had a special table reserved and everything. And we just spent the whole night talking about each other. He like, wanted to get to know me. And he told me he sees himself being with me for a really long time.”

“Awe, Nikki,” I teased; though she rolled her eyes, she still gave a shy smile before we locked up again. We fell silent for a few bouts, too breathless and caught up in the sparring to hold much of a conversation.

Only once she’d gotten me twisted into a half-assed ‘No-Lock’ – which was just her lying across my back with her arms around my neck – did she finally add,

“I’ve like, never liked anyone this much before.” Her voice dropped a bit and she added, “Not even when I was freakin’ married, Jellybean. Like, I don’t know what it is with John, but we just connect.”

I moved to try and meet her eyes, but she tightened up her hold; with a growl, I tried to twist and pull away. She shifted and completely blanketed my body with her own.

“I’m trying to be girly and emotional with you, you jerk,” I laughed, struggling to get myself free. When she tightened her arms, I dipped my head down and licked the back of her hand

“Ew! Jamie!” she squealed, rolling off me while simultaneously wiping her hand off on my shirt. Laughing at the face she was giving me, I rolled onto my back and propped myself up on my elbows.

“So could you see yourself marrying him?” I asked, and didn’t miss the drop in her face just a bit; I frowned.

“Well, I could. But… he was married before, and he told me that he doesn’t want to get married again.” My brows raised, and then she added, “Or have kids.”

I felt upset for her. This was the girl that spent our down time planning out the perfect wedding. She even had her kid’s names picked out, for cryin’ out loud. How was this girl not gonna get married!? Have babies?!

“Nikki –“

“It’s not a big deal. And I don’t really wanna talk about it right now,” she said quickly, hiding the hurt on her face as she turned to dig through her bag for her phone. “Let’s talk about what’s going on with you and Randy.”

My eyes widened immediately and I barely covered up my surprised expression before she turned back to me.

“What about him?”

“You guys are like, inseparable, and you haven’t even gone to the gym with him in like a week!”

Internally, I let out a huge sigh of relief; she didn’t know what had happened between us. As badly as I wanted to ask for her advice, or just confide in her about what had happened, I knew telling Nikki was the quickest way to get into trouble with everyone else.

I wasn’t even able to defend me against myself; no way I was gonna try and explain away what had happened to an angry Mama Brie. So I just shrugged and made an indifferent face.

“Oh, that’s nothing,” I laughed, trying to look as casual as I could. Luckily, something on her phone had caught her attention and she didn’t see the uncertainty in my expression. “He’s just been really busy with his promos and stuff.”

“Well I’m gonna be with John tonight,” she began, wiggling her phone in my direction as she began typing. Though I scoffed and rolled my eyes, I could feel the panic creeping up inside me. “That should give you two plenty of time to ‘catch up’.”

“You’re such a freak,” I laughed nervously, shaking my head; being alone with Randy was pretty much the last thing I wanted. After Friday, I had no idea where we stood, and honestly I didn’t know if I was ready for a repeat.

I knew there were women everywhere that wanted the chance to make out with Randy Orton, but I wasn’t one of them. He was my friend, why couldn’t we just keep it like that? And then of course, what the hell was going on with Dean? Was there even anything there, or was I just letting the flirty personality of Mox get to me?

Nikki stretched her legs out and knocked her foot against my thigh. I raised my brows at her as she began to pack up.

“You wanna come have lunch with me and John?”

“Nah, I bother you guys enough,” I laughed, watching as she got to her feet. “You guys go spend some quality time.”

“You sure?”

“’Course,” I promised, smiling up at her; as much as I didn’t necessarily want to be alone, another interrogation from Nikki – and possibly John – was even less appealing.

“I’ll see you at the arena, then” she told me, slinging her bag onto her shoulder and reaching down to ruffle my hair; I swatted her hand away as I laughed. “Love you, Jellybean!”

“Love you too, brat,” I teased, watching over my shoulder as she practically danced out of the gym; I smiled to myself, shaking my head. She had it so bad for him, and it was freakin’ adorable.

A shadow fell over me and I turned to look up. My breath left me in a sharp exhale, and my eyes widened in surprise.

Dean stood over me now, a bemused smile on his lips as he watched the range of emotions that flitted over my face. Embarrassment flooded over me from earlier, and it was all I could do to keep eye contact with my ridiculous crush.

He reached down to me and raised his brows in invitation. Against my better judgment, I slid my hands into his. His fingers wrapped gently over mine and he pulled me to my feet with ease.

Just forceful enough to make me stumble forward into his chest.

He held my hands to his chest, keeping me pinned to him as he stared down at me. Not that I minded, really. Leaning against his solid frame, head tipped back to meet his gaze, I had barely moved and I was breathless.

"So," he murmured, leaning down just a bit. My breath hitched; at the reaction to his advances, he moved even closer. His nose brushed my own, thumbs running over my knuckles as he continued, "admiring the layout, hm?"

Yeah, I was gonna kill Nikki.

The moment I blushed and dropped my eyes, one of Dean’s hands let go of my own and he reached up to tip my chin back. As our eyes met, I let my free hand splay over his chest; I could feel the hard lines of his muscles through the thin shirt. The urge to literally rip the fabric from his body was almost irresistible.

At my touch, a look of barely-contained desire began to build up in his gaze until it was almost overwhelming. His clear blue eyes, peeking through his mop of damp curls, flickered between my own. He was so close to me, taking over all my senses. Allusion of a smirk, shift of his muscles under my touch, hitch of his own breath as I moved closer, the sharp, surprisingly pleasant hint of mint-and-musk…

I was drowning in Dean Ambrose.

His hand pulled back slowly, his touch lingering along my jaw before he dropped my other hand and shifted back. Dean was nearly out of the gym by the time I got my bearings. When our eyes met again, he paused at the door and sent me a wink.

“Me too,” he teased, and left me gaping after him he disappeared down the hall.

---

“With Kane out of action for the TLC Pay-Per-View, Ambrose, Rollins, and Reigns – The Shield – will now take on Ryback, Daniel Bryan, and Jamie Lawless in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. Will the Shield’s intentions become a reality? Or will Jamie Lawless, Daniel Bryan, and Ryback’s appetite for revenge put an end to the Shield of Injustice?”

Bryan and I simultaneously fist-bumped across the couch as we smirked at the TV. The promo for our upcoming fight had been the opening for Raw tonight, and we could hear the cheers from where we were. He was slowly coming down off the panic of me being in such a physical match.

As I’d pointed out numerous times, both he and Ryback would be right there with me, and I’d already proved I could take at least two of the three members of the Shield on my own. The only one I hadn’t managed to stand my ground with was Roman. But that’s what Bryan and Ryback were there for, riht?

With both of them on my side in an official match, we might be able to keep the numbers game from taking over, and we were both pretty optimistic. At least for right now.

As the opening promos continued, both our eyes widened when John and AJ kissing blasted onto the screen. My head whipped around, looking for Nikki instinctively as Bryan began to search frantically for the remote. We’d been having such a good day; this was the last thing we needed!

“Turn it off! Turn it off!” I hissed, leaning over the couch to look down the hall. I let out a squeak of alarm, spotting the twins heading towards the locker room.

“I can’t find it! Help!” he hissed back, flipping the cushions desperately; I whipped around and dropped to the ground, sweeping my hands under the couch as Bryan shoved his hands between the cushions along the back.

“She’s coming, she’s coming!” I cried in a hushed whisper as we both snapped our heads up to the TV. It was showing off a whole new set of ‘scandalous photos’ of John and AJ. Exactly what would set Nikki off for the entire night.

“Unplug it!” Bryan almost screamed, shoving me towards the TV. I dove forward and ripped the cord out of the wall the moment the twins came inside. They both paused, staring at the scene in front of them.

Bryan, sprawled half on the couch and half on the floor, cushions strewn around him. Me, lying under the TV stand, breathless and wide-eyed, my hands tangled in the cord.

“You know what’s really sad?” Brie sighed, stepping over the cushions and pulling her husband up to dust him off. “This isn’t even close to the worst thing we’ve walked in on with you two.”

“Right?” Nikki smirked, watching as I wriggled out awkwardly and shook the cord off. “Nothing’s on fire, at least.”

“And no squirrel, either,” Brie added thankfully. Bryan and I groaned.

“It was one time!” he defended, and I jammed a finger at Nikki.

“And it was your fault that furry little demon got loose the second time!”

“Okay, okay,” Brie said quickly before we could get started; she tugged on Bryan’s arm. “You said you’d go with me to talk to Stephanie, remember?”

“We’re not done here,” Bryan said, giving Nikki and I a pointed look, pointing between us menacingly as Brie pulled him out of the room. The two of us snickered together before Nikki’s phone went off. She glanced at the screen, and then looped her arm through mine.

“Go see John with me?”

“I’ll walk you there, but I’ve got a schedule to keep tonight,” I told her, snagging my backpack and allowing myself to be taken down the hall. Sheamus was just coming back from the ring; his face was bright and he had a wide grin that just grew when he spotted me.

“Look who it is,” he said, pulling me into a hug as we paused beside each other; he stepped back and nodded at Nikki in greeting before looking back at me. “So, any mischief I’ve missed?”

“Nothing yet,” I laughed, patting my bag. “Between you and me, though, don’t go near the south locker rooms tonight.”

“Duly noted,” he chuckled, giving me a wink and squeezing my shoulder before he continued down the hall. “See you ‘round, Lass.”

Nikki barely waited for him to be out of earshot before she squealed out,

“Ohmygod, you two are so cute!”

“No!” I snapped, smacking her lightly up side the head. “Don’t even start with me!”

“You could be Jeamus!” she continued as I towed her towards the manager offices, where John’s meeting was wrapping up. “How freakin’ adorable would that be! Oh, my god! And your babies would –“

“I’m not having his babies!” I gasped out, giving her an incredulous look.

“Uh, that sexual tension back there says otherwise!”

“Nicole! Look at me! Do I look like I’m ready to jump his bones and get knocked up!?”

There was a snort from behind us, and we whirled. John Cena was smirking at me, arms crossed as he watched the embarrassment and horror cross my face. I facepalmed as Nikki burst out laughing, moving to John’s side and wrapping her arms around him. When I looked up, he was still smirking.

“Knock it off,” I warned him, backing away. Nikki matched his expression. “You too, you little pervert!”

“So who’s she having babies with?” John asked, pointedly being loud enough for me to hear. I flipped him off as Nikki laughed and said,

“Sheamus! They are so cute –“

“Shut up, Nicole!” I shouted, hurrying around the corner before it could get any worse.

---

“What are you doing?” Jimmy Uso asked cautiously, watching as I threw my body into Damien’s locker door to get it to close. Once it clicked shut, I looked back and gave him a cheeky smile.

“Nothing that concerns you,” I promised, and he snorted, shaking his head. “Just, uh, let Damien come in first tonight. And don’t leave anyone or anything you care about within twenty feet of the locker.”

Jimmy stared warily after me as I cleared my throat and grabbed my now-empty backpack, heading down the hall to hunt down Nikki.

“Jamie! Jamie!”

Confused, I turned and saw AJ all but skipping towards me. Immediately I spun back around to duck down a side hallway and make a break for it, but my terrible luck prevailed, as always. A pair of hands snagged my arm and spun me back to face the wild-eyed girl in front of me.

AJ was grinning, an almost sadistic gleam in her eyes as she bounced up and down in front of me. Considering the last time we’d talked I’d been threatening to knock her out, this was unexpected, to say the least.

“Uh, hey, AJ –“

“Hey! Did you see what happened out there?!” she gushed, dancing back and forth as I did my damndest to duck around her. “Mr. McMahon made a match for me against Vickie!”

“Awesome,” I said with forced enthusiasm, giving her my most convincing fake smile as I tried to turn and leave again. She looped her arm through mine and began to tow me down the hallway with her. This wasn’t gonna end well.

“You have no idea! Oh my gosh, she has been tormenting me for like, the past year of my life!”

“No,” I gasped, again trying to pull away; her hold tightened around me and I swept a skeptical look over her. She was smaller than me – which was a first, here – but she was alarmingly strong and had a vice-grip on me.

“Yes! And now I can finally get my hands on her – oh!” We came to a sudden stop and I almost collided with her as she spun to face me. She immediately began to turn and look around, as if expecting someone to pop up out of nowhere. “I need to tell John!”

“You know what,” I said quickly. This was my chance at freedom! “You’ve got a match to go get ready for. So why don’t you go back to the locker room, and I can send him your way when –“

“Let’s go get him!” she gushed; and my eyes widened. This was not what I’d been expecting! She towed me down another hall and we paused for just a moment outside the men’s locker room.

“AJ, no! Don’t–“

She yanked the door open and hauled both of us inside.

R-Truth saw us first; he was in a towel, and apparently nothing else. His eyes widened and he immediately dove back to cover himself. Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel both let out shouts of alarm and jumped back as AJ ran forward – finally releasing me – and jumped straight into John’s arms.

Oh god, Nikki was gonna flip if she ever found out about this. John shot me a panicked look over the crazy diva’s shoulder, and I threw my hands up in defeat; what was I supposed to do?!

“Hey, okay, okay,” John said, quickly turning and trying to hoard AJ out immediately. “So nice to see you two, in the men’s locker room,” he added pointedly, shooting me another look as he held AJ at bay. Seriously, why was I being blamed?! “What’s, uh, what’s goin’ on here?”

“Did you see what happened!?” she gushed to him; I heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose. This chick was crazy. A hand came and rested on my arm, and I tensed, looking back instantly. Randy’s baby blue eyes were just inches from my own.

I was so startled I actually took a step back; I hadn’t expected anyone to be that close to me. Randy’s brows furrowed just a bit, and as John forcefully extracted AJ from the locker room, Randy nodded towards the other door.

“Can we talk?” he asked softly. After sticking my tongue out at John as he gave me a parting scowl, I glanced at Randy and nodded quickly. He smiled just a hint and rested his hand on my elbow, towing me gently out the back door.

The door swung shut and for several moments we stood uncertainly across from one another, looking at anything but the other person.

“So,” he started quietly, again reaching up to scratch the back of his neck and letting his hand linger there. My eyes flicked up and we met each other’s gaze. “I uh, wanted to apologize. For the other night.”

Though I knew the talk had been coming, I was nowhere near ready to try and untangle this mess. My arms crossed under my chest and I leaned back against the walls, watching him as he began to pace a bit.

“I didn’t really mean to come onto you like that, Jay,” he continued. “I just… I really like you. I have for a while. And Just being there with you, like that… I got carried away. And I get it if you hate me now –“

“Randy,” I cut in quickly, and his babbling stopped immediately. “I don’t hate you. I just – I’m not sure what to think. You know?”

“I don’t,” he said, a tone of frustration in his voice. “I don’t know. I have no idea. After all this time I thought I knew how you felt. And then you stopped me –“

“Because you’re my friend, Randy. And I didn’t know you felt like that about me. And now that I do, that kind of changes everything.”

“Does it?” he asked, finally stopping his pacing to turn and look at me. “Because I didn’t think it would. I mean, we’ve been flirting for months now anyways –“

“Woah, hang on,” I said quickly, uncrossing my arms and pushing off the wall. “Randy, I wasn’t – I don’t flirt. I was just, we were messing around –“

“Maybe you were,” he said quietly, almost bitter, and a wave of guilt crashed over me. My eyes dropped to my sneakers and I stayed quiet as I slumped back against the wall; I didn’t know what to say to that.

Several moments passed, with Randy pacing incessantly as I tried to go over the entirety of our friendship for the last six months. I was so caught up in my thoughts I didn’t notice him move to stand in front of me.

“Look,” he murmured, reaching out to tilt my chin up and make my eyes meet his. “I just… I know it’s a lot at once, and maybe I shouldn’t have kissed you just yet. But I kinda put myself out there, you know? And I just need to know if you feel about me how I feel about you.”

My stomach was in knots; I had no idea how I felt about Randy now! We were friends, yeah! But could I ever really go past that? The kiss from him wasn’t half as satisfying as just sharing the same room with Dean was. The crazy Shield vigilante was the only thing I could think about.

His eyes flickered between mine; when I didn’t answer immediately, he let out a heavy breath and turned away, scrubbing a hand down his face. Guilt hit me again and I reached out, grabbing his wrist and tugging him back to keep him from walking away. I had no idea what to tell him, but I didn’t want him leaving like this.

“Can I just… Can I think about this?” I asked softly, searching his eyes desperately; I hated relationships. They always ruined everything. Why did Randy have to like me!? I wasn’t even likeable most days, and he somehow managed it anyway.

Randy pressed his lips together, but nodded just a bit. We both relaxed just a hint, and I gave him a small smile. My whole body was still in uneasy knots; I had to know we were okay. Even if I didn’t like him romantically, he was still one of my best friends.

As if he read my thoughts, he reached out and looped an arm around my shoulders, tucking me to his chest. My arms encircled his waist and I held him tight, resting my cheek against his chest. His hand rubbed my arm gently, and then he took a step back.

“I’ll see you around, Jay,” he said as he stepped around me, heading back into the locker room before I could even reply. The moment the door shut, I slumped heavily against the wall and dropped my head into my hands.

Everything – my nerves, emotions, thoughts – were so tightly wound and frayed I felt like I was about to burst apart. It was several moments before I felt in-tact enough to try and continue the night.

I’d only made it halfway down the hall when trouble called my name again. Well, more like an unsuspecting Cody Rhodes had just wandered out of his locker room. Just the distraction I needed; the perfect bait for my hook, so to speak.

Cody glanced up as I headed his direction; I’d like to point out it was him that called me over, offering a smile as I paused in front of him. Take the mustache away, and he was a pretty good-looking man. A poor, innocent man that had no idea what he’d just walked into.

“I don’t think we’ve officially met,” he said. “I’m Cody.”

“Nice meeting you, Cody,” I told him with a smile I hoped came across as innocent and friendly. He stuck out his hand and I went to take it. “I’m Jamie –“

“NO!”

Damien Sandow practically materialized between us, slapping my hand down as he bundled Cody back. As Cody stared at his friend in bewilderment, I fought to hide the victorious grin on my face; he’d taken the bait. A lot quicker than I’d been expecting, but I could work with this.

“Ouch,” I said pointedly, rubbing my hand and feigning a wounded look; Damien gave me a wild, mistrusting gaze over his shoulder, still holding Cody as far from me as he could. “I don’t know what hurts more, my hand or my feelings –”

“What are you –“ Cody tried, and Damien’s hand actually came up over his mouth. I snorted.

“Don’t share words with her, Cody! She’s a siren! She lures you in and preys on your innocence!”

Cody made a face as I gave a wide, teasing grin. Damien, catching my look, turned to stare me down as I clasped my hands behind my back and took a step closer. Damien sandwiched Cody between his back and the wall, throwing his arms out to protect him from whatever attack he was anticipating.

“Are you flirting with me, Dames?”

Absolute disgust came over his expression and he stepped forward to square off to me, giving Cody enough room now to slip out from behind his friend. He gave Damien a wary look as he stood to the side, observing us.

“Whatever notions you’ve concocted about my hidden feelings for you are absolute garbage,” he seethed, nearly red in the face, veins bulging in his neck as I gave him a teasing smirk. “I would never involve myself romantically with someone as vile and loathsome as your breed of cockroach –”

“Oh, stop it, you!” I giggled playfully, putting a hand over my heart and fanning myself with the other as I started to back down the hallway. “You keep sweet talkin’ me like that, and I won’t be able to stay away!”

The sound of his frantic shouting followed down the hall. As much as I wanted to continue harassing my unwilling victims, I had a match to get ready for. When I came around the corner, though, my heart actually skipped a few beats, and all my rational thought left immediately.

Dean was on the ground, totally caught up in his push-up routine. For several moments I just stood there, transfixed, watching the scene in front of me. Holy shit. There had to be laws against doing things like this in public.

His body was a straight line of discipline; held up only by his toes and fingers, he moved himself with surprising grace and ease. His damp curls hung into his eyes, his massive arms glistened with sweat as he moved up and down. Those arms were doing things to me. The muscles shifted and rolled with his movements, rippling across his strong back, down into his long, broad legs and enunciating his powerful frame…

Ho-ly SHIT.

As he went to lift his head I dove back around the corner, slamming myself against the wall as I suddenly had to struggle to catch my breath. Like now that I wasn’t being hypnotized by his bare arms I my heart could actually start beating again. If I'd been caught up with him before…

I had to get another look. There was no way I was missing out on something as spectacular as Dean Ambrose getting ready for a match. Out of instinct I bit my lip, and took a steadying breath.

I peeked around the corner and actually squeaked.

Dean was just inches from me, leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face. He reached up and swept his shaggy curls back to catch my stare better. It didn't help the situation that my eyes went to his bare arms and then his eyes. By the time I met his gaze I knew my face was bright red.

"Can I help you?" he asked, tongue brushing over his lips as he stared down at me. I opened my mouth to reply, and shut it a moment later. I had nothing. "Look a little flustered, Finch."

My face was on fire.

"I uh, I actually, I was just –" my voice went up an octave and I cleared my throat. He actually chuckled and had the nerve to cross his arms, making his muscles eve more prominent. I dropped my gaze and actually bit my lip. That just wasn't fair.

"My eyes are up here, darlin'," he teased, reaching out and tipping my chin up. Just the soft touch of his skin on mine made my brain short circuit; his finger brushed my jaw just a bit as he pulled his hand back.

"I wasn't –" He quirked a brow, and I pressed my lips together again. Yeah, okay. Busted. I spit out the first thing that came to mind. "Have you uh, seen Nikki? I was looking for Nikki."

He held my gaze with a victorious smirk for several more moments. He saw right through me, the bastard. He let out a low chuckle and shook his head before he jerked his chin up, motioning behind him.

"Thanks," I said, clearing my throat as he crossed his arms again; daring me to look again. Please. I was stronger than that –

He rolled his shoulders back and flexed his arms a little tighter; my eyes dropped on instinct. I was so weak.

I couldn't even meet his eyes as I scampered past, sprinting as I took the corner at the end of the hall, and collided with someone. Again. This was seriously becoming a problem. I looked up and caught Nikki staring down at me, perplexed. Son of a bitch, he’d actually been right!

"Jellybean, what the –" she paused and took me in; my face still had to be bright red. My breathing was ragged, and my eyes were wild. I looked so damn disheveled and guilty. "Uh… what's going on?"

"Nothing! I just – I was thinking of –" Dean's arms came to my mine and I cut off, going even darker red. "I mean, it's just – it's really hot in here."

"Jamie, what the hell –"

"Are you hot?" I laughed nervously, tugging at the collar of my shirt dramatically. "It's just, it's so hot –"

"Yeah, it is, ain't it?" Dean mused, strolling past the two of us, smirking so triumphantly it had to hurt at this point.

As Nikki's eyes widened in realization, Dean shot me a wink and went on his way, leaving me to drop my face into my hand as my best friend completely forgot the concept of 'playing it cool'.

“Ohmygosh,” she actually squealed; Dean, still walking down the hall, chuckled at her reaction. I smacked her arm.

“Would you shut up?!” I hissed, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back the way I’d just come. “Seriously!”

“First Randy, then Sheamus, now Dean?!”

“Nicole!” I snapped, throwing my hand over her mouth as 3MB passed us by. The last thing I needed was the entire locker room gossiping about my non-existent relationships.

With Nikki Bella as my best friend, though, I knew it would only be a matter of time.

--

My heart was in my throat; I could barely breathe.

I felt the hands patting my back as I followed Bryan and Nikki to gorilla position, but I didn’t see the faces we passed. It was all a blur as I made my way towards the stage, ready for my first match as myself. We paused by the curtain, and my best friends turned to me.

“You got this, Jay,” Bryan promised, hands on my shoulders, still beaming down at me like a proud father. I nodded, too nervous to speak. Nikki caught my eye and she came forward, slipping her arms around my waist, hugging me tight to her. My face buried into her neck and she pressed a light kiss to my temple.

“Jellybean, you’ve beaten him before. You can kick his ass and you know it,” she murmured, pulling away to look down at me. I swallowed hard, trying to push my nerves away. For a heartbeat, I was back at the Performance Center, getting ready for my match against Summer Rae. “You’re excited, right?”

“Yeah,” I said quietly; I could hear the crowd beginning to grow louder as Del Rio’s music began to fade.

“Focus on that, okay? Just have fun. The rest of it’ll come out when you need it,” she encouraged, stepping back and putting her hand on my back to guide me forward. With a deep, settling breath, I gave the both of them a quick smile and turned, just as my music hit.

The crowd was cheering wildly, pumping up the fact that I was finally having my first match. All those people packed in here were cheering for me. Wanting to watch me. I looked around at the stands, a grin slowly splitting my face; the nerves melted away as I came down the ramp, waving and going to slap some hands.

Though I was still nervous, having the overwhelming support of the fans was all it took to shake off the lingering hesitation. By the time I reached the ring, I was so excited I could barely hold still.

“And his opponent, from Ouray Colorado… weighing in at 117lbs… Jamie Lawless!”

I jumped up onto the apron and vaulted smoothly over the top rope, shooting Del Rio and Ricardo a wink as I took position across from him.

Ricardo slid out of the ring and Del Rio tossed his scarf aside as I ran a hand through my hair, getting the blonde waves out of my face. As I squared up for the fight, Del Rio had the nerve to laugh at me, pointing my direction as he asked Ricardo,

“They expect me to fight this brat?”

“Fight me or forfeit,” I taunted, moving towards him; his dark eyes flashed to me. “I’m getting the win either way, so the choice is yours, Berty.”

Del Rio narrowed his eyes at the unwanted nickname and then caught the ref’s eye, nodding. The bell rang, and we surged towards each other.

Del Rio’s hands immediately embedded in my hair and he jerked my head forward. I let out a squeak of pain and stumbled, grabbing his wrists to keep myself upright. Del Rio’s hands slid from my head to my neck and he jerked my body down as he drove his knee into my stomach.

As I stumbled back, clutching my midsection, Del Rio threw an arm into my face and knocked me to the ground. He backed up and gave me time to get unsteadily to my feet. Still holding my stomach, Del Rio tried to take advantage of my pain. He ran forward to hit me with a clothesline, and I ducked just in time.

As he turned to try and grab my hair again I spun on one foot and landed a hard superkick with the other. Del Rio fell hard onto his back, actually caught off guard by the hit. He pulled himself up by the ropes, leaning on the turnbuckle to orient himself; I ran forward and slammed my body into his. He let out a low groan and slumped forward, dropping down and then rolling onto his back, stunned.

Immediately I dropped across him, but he kicked out before two. He rolled away from me as I skittered back on my knees; he got to his feet just in time for me to hit him with a hard clothesline. He dropped again, and I went for the cover.

Letting Del Rio get the upper hand wasn’t an option. I was too small to overpower him if it came to a standoff, so my best bet was to stay one step ahead. Keep moving; use my speed and dexterity to wear him down and keep myself out of harms way.

Though Del Rio shoved me off before two again, he barely sat up before I wrapped an arm around his neck and held him in a tight RNC. He scrabbled at my arm with one hand as he fought for breath.

And once he regained his bearing and realized our position, he thought of the one thing I hadn’t – I was half his size. Del Rio stood slowly, and I panicked; he was taking me with him. Though I dropped my hold, Del Rio kept my arm firmly around his neck as he got fully to his feet. Now I was just hanging off his back like a very flustered cape.

Without warning Del Rio hunched forward and bucked up, tossing me forward by his arm. I flipped over his head with surprising force and slammed down into the mat on my back.

Now he was the one who didn’t waste any time, laying over me for what I thought was the pin. But he forced my own shoulder up and then wrapped his arms around my throat; he wanted me to tap out. I struggled with everything I had; desperately, I squirmed towards the ropes, trying to keep my vision from blurring.

Just as Del Rio tugged me back, I looped a foot on the bottom rope; the ref called for Del Rio to drop his hold. Of course, he held on for the full three-count warning, finally letting me slump onto my chest as he released me.

The fight raged on for nearly ten minutes; every time Del Rio tried to get the upper hand, I skirted out of the way and kept up the quick shots. We were both worn down and exhausted, but neither of us were ready to cave in just yet. I’d knocked Del Rio to the middle of the ring with a few quick forearms, and as he slowly stood upright, wiping at his bloodied lip, he spotted me on top of the turnbuckle.

With all my effort I threw myself at him, and caught him just right over the chest to send him hard onto the mat. He actually let out a groan of pain as I scooped up his leg.

One… Two… Thr–

Del Rio’s hands slid under me and slammed into my stomach to throw me up off of him. I let out a squeak of surprise as I went a surprising distance across the mat, landing hard on my ass and slumping against the ropes.

Though he’d broken the count, he didn’t have enough left in him to get up and come after me. I was still sitting, arms tangled around the bottom rope to keep me upright, when I saw the last thing I expected.

Dean had just hopped the barrier across from me, eyes locked onto mine. The crowd, having just spotted the Shield boys, erupted into boo’s. Del Rio turned and saw Seth and Roman following Dean to the ring, and he frowned.

He glanced back at me, and I just shrugged; I had no idea which one of us they were here for. When I looked back, Dean was still eyeing me. He and the boys each took a side of the ring; the only one not occupied by the Shield was the one I was leaning on.

Slowly, they pulled themselves up and crawled through the ropes. For a heartbeat, I truly thought they were going to go for me. Dean licked his lips, and then surged for me without warning.

I shrunk against the ropes and flinched away, only to see the three of them collapse onto Del Rio. The ref lifted his arm to signal for disqualification, and Seth rounded on him. The ref immediately held his hands up in surrender and backed up to the turnbuckle.

Pansy.

Dean straddled the helpless wrestler, throwing punch after punch at his chest and face. As Del Rio tried to shield himself, Roman and Seth went to town, kicking his ribs and pinning his hands to the mat.

“Hey!” I shouted as I surged forward onto my feet; Roman was the closest to me, and I locked my hands in his vest, ripping him backwards. We both hit the mat, and Roman landed hard on his ass right next to me, actually looking surprised. The look on his face slowly melted into irritation as he saw me looking up at him.

With a nervous laugh, I shifted back and gave him a cheeky smile. His scowl deepened.

“Uh, yeah, about that –“ I began, ready to dive away just as his hand locked onto my upper arm. He jerked me forward as I stood; I stumbled into him and immediately tried to shove off. His grip tightened, and I panicked.

The announcers hadn’t been lying when they called Roman Reigns a powerhouse. Even as I threw all my weight back and tried to pull us to the floor, he didn’t even stumble. My feet kicked out at him, and with an irritated sigh, he spun me suddenly and slammed my back to his chest.

His arms looped under my arms, but unlike Dean, he didn’t just brace me like that. His hands moved and locked together at the back of my neck and he pulled up, holding me tight in a full nelson. He arched my back painfully to make me watch as Dean and Seth picked Del Rio up and slammed him into the mat.

“Stop it! He wasn’t doing anything!” I gasped, struggling for breath as Roman tugged me back tighter. My feet scrabbled uselessly over the mat; a few times I tried to kick out at him, but the more pressure he applied to the hold, the more compliant I became.

Again, Seth and Dean slammed Del Rio down. The helpless wrestler was lying motionless on the mat now, and now my vision was beginning to tunnel. Vaguely, in the back of my head, I remembered back when Bryan had taught me reversals. The idea was fuzzy now, but I had to try.

There was no way Bryan’s go-to reversal would work. That would require me being strong enough to jerk Roman’s arms down and break his hold. Right now I couldn’t even get my feet to completely touch the floor, so that wasn’t an option.

Instead, I threw my arms up and tried to let my body fall through his hold, but Roman had no issue dropping with me, cinching up my arms and locking me in place again. But his hold had shifted forward just enough, and I could reach back and grab his fingers now. As hard as I could, I grabbed his middle finger and ripped back to hyperextend it; he let out a shout of pain and immediately his hold slackened.

Before I could dive out of his grip he snarled and just shoved me aside. Apparently, the Shield were done with their attack. As I hit the mat and barely caught myself from landing face-first, I looked up to watch the boys slink out of the ring, smirks on their faces.

I scrambled to my feet and stumbled to the ropes, holding my hand out for a mic. The boys were nearly out of the crowd when King tossed me one.

“Shield!”

They didn’t even stop their retreat as they glanced over their shoulders at me, all laughing amongst themselves. Dean had the nerve to send me a wink over his shoulder, and that just threw me over the edge.

“Hey!” I shouted again, jumping up to stand on the ropes, leaning out towards them. “Dig your balls outta your pockets, put ‘em on, and listen to me when I’m talking to you!”

Well that sure got their attention. This time all three men stopped cold in their tracks; the crowd ooh’d as they turned to face me. Again, I had a stare-down with Dean Ambrose as he stalked back towards the barrier. He came up behind the announce table; King and Cole scrambled out of the way as he leaned out and grabbed an extra mic off the table.

Seth and Roman were a few feet away, but right now all I saw was the eccentric man eyeing me, looking as though he was really thinking about coming to get in the ring. His clear blue eyes swept over me, and he smirked.

“Aren’t you a pretty little thing, all riled up and ready to fight,” he drawled; okay, I’ll admit, I was just a little excited at his teasing words. But I forced the rush out of my mind. I was mad, and no amount of irresistible smirking was throwing me off my game. Much. “You keep that up, and I may just have to come ruffle those feathers a little sooner than Sunday, Finch.”

“Save the sweet talk for Roman and Seth,” I spat, earning a chuckle from him and a scowl from the slow-approaching Shield boys behind them. For just a split second, I swore I saw a flicker of arousal in his eyes; he liked me angry, apparently. “I wanna know where the injustice was here. For the first time in weeks, there was a fair match. Rodrigues wasn’t interfering, the ref was making good calls, and the two of us were actually playing nice. And you three stooges had to come down throw your giant egos around.”

“Del Rio is a spoiled, little rich boy that’s used to things being handed to him,” Dean began, leaning forward on the barrier as he waved the mic around lazily. “We just came with a handout of our own. Give ‘im what he’s –”

“Then you do it on your own damn time,” I cut in, surprising Dean with the level of animosity in my voice. “This was my match, not yours.”

The crowd was cheering for me, and I could see King and Cole nodding in agreement. Seth and Roman had joined Dean now at the barrier, and I could hear someone outside the ring urging me to get out. I glanced over. Ricardo, to my surprise, motioned for me to back away.

“Looks like the little cockroach noticed his bosses predicament,” Dean pointed out. Though I kept my head turned to Ricardo, I let my eyes flicker over to the Shield. Dean waved his free hand lazily at the ring. “Del Rio hasn’t moved. He’s out cold, little Finch. So why don’t you fly yourself on over and take that win.”

The crowd settled into surprised quiet when we all remembered that the match had never been ended. Seth had made sure of that. And now my helpless opponent was just a few feet behind me. It would be an easy victory. The Shield had ensured it.

“We know you want it,” Dean pressed on, eyes glinting in victory as his tongue flicked out over his bottom lip for a moment. “You earned it, and he’s more than deserving of a loss. Believe that.”

The crowd watched in stunned silence as I took a step back, dropping the mic. I could hear some of the fans close by, shouting at me to just walk away. This was what Shield wanted. They wanted Del Rio to lose, and they wanted me to win. It wouldn’t have been enough to have a disqualification; they wanted him to be beaten by me one more time.

“Hey, come on,” the ref began as I moved for Del Rio. As I sunk to my knees next to him, he gave me a look of disappointment. “Don’t take it like this –“

“Just give the count,” I gritted out, ignoring the boos and jeers from the onlookers. The only people smiling right now were the three boys who had orchestrated this.

I moved to kneel on the other side of Del Rio, looking up and holding Dean’s gaze. As I put my hands on Del Rio, his lips actually tugged up into a victorious smile. Just as the booing and screams became nearly unbearable, I turned and laid myself down on the mat.

There was a heartbeat of stunned silence as I reached over and grabbed Del Rio’s arm, laying it across my chest. I turned my head in time to catch the look of frustrated fury on Dean’s face as the ref dropped beside us.

One… two… three!

The bell sounded, and I sat up roughly, shoving Del Rio’s arm aside and getting to my feet. Dean watched me with a glint of irritation in his eyes as I gave him a two-fingered salute, grabbing the top rope and vaulting out of the ring.

I didn’t know who’s voice was higher – Bryan’s or John’s. Both men swarmed me the second I got backstage, going back and forth between my standoff with the Shield and the ending to the match.

“Do you have any idea how hard it was to keep them back here?” Nikki laughed, slipping between the boys to hug me again. Brie joined us briefly to add,

“Your big brothers didn’t like you in danger –“

“But then you just totally shoved their smirks down their throats!” Bryan laughed, literally elbowing the twins off me to pull me into a hug of his own. He squeezed me tight, shaking me back and forth and laughing. “You were amazing!”

“That’s one way to take a loss, Jay,” John agreed, grin so wide his face was threatening to break. “Man, it’s almost better than if you’d won! I never thought I’d say that –“

“But just think about that! You took the loss just to one-up the Shield!” Bryan cut in; Nikki and I shared a look as I began to extract myself from the never-ending hug.

“Okay, let me breathe,” I teased, swatting John’s hand away as he reached to rope me in. As happy as they were, the match left a bitter taste in my mouth. My first time officially in the ring as Jamie Lawless, and I’d had to take a loss.

All because those bastards didn’t think I could do it on my own, I growled bitterly to myself.

“Talk about, like, earth shattering moments!” Bryan continued, miming his head exploding. “Jay, you are quite possibly the coolest wrestler in the world right now!”

“A loss is a loss, Bryan –“

Brad Maddox passed us, heading for the ring, wearing a referee shirt. All of us fell quiet as he glanced over, raising a brow. My eyes snapped to the TV; AJ and Vickie were in the ring, ready to start their fight.

“Oh, this isn’t gonna end well,” Bryan sighed, shaking his head as Brad walked out. Immediately, John threw his hands up.

“I’m not waiting around for this. I’m not getting dragged into this mess again.”

“Good idea,” Bryan agreed, already backing up with John, towing Brie with him. The three of them raised their brows at us, asking us to come with.

“You know what, I’m not gonna lie. I wanna see how this breaks down,” I said with a shrug; all three rolled their eyes. “What?!”

“Trouble magnet,” Bryan teased; John glanced to Nikki and she shrugged as well.

“Someone needs to keep her out of trouble.”

“Yeah, so why are you staying?” Brie shot back, and I snorted. The others gave parting waves as my best friend and I turned back to the screen we’d been watching. It was no surprise when AJ got the upper hand quickly, nor when Brad refused the count.

Nikki and I grimaced as, sure enough, Brad dropped instantly to give a quick-count to Vickie just moments later. The bell rang, and Vickie rolled out of the ring with a speed I’d never seen before, only matched by Brad as he followed a moment later.

“What a match, am I right?” he laughed to Nikki and I as the two of them slipped backstage. I shot him an irritable scowl; as much as I didn’t like AJ, he surpassed her on all levels of annoyance.

“You’re such a kiss-ass,” I pointed out; he scoffed and went to argue back just as Vickie smacked his chest to get his attention. His face scrunched up in pain – freakin’ pansy – as he looked to where she was pointing.

AJ was having a total meltdown in the ring. She pounded the mat, kicking and screaming as she writhed in fury; Nikki and I stared up with wide eyes. We’d seen a few angry losses before, but AJ was taking the cake.

“Go get her out of the ring!” Vickie ordered, and Brad gave her an incredulous look.
“Me?!”

“Well I’m not going out there, and she can’t throw a tantrum and hold up the show!”

As Vickie and Brad bickered, my best friend and I shared a quick look, and immediately spun to leave. We weren’t getting roped into this. I’d just taken a step when Brad’s hand locked onto my arm and tugged me back.

Both Nikki and I gave him incredulous looks; what game was he playing at, here? As he towed me back, Nikki moved to go after him. I waved my hand in dismissal.

“You go. It’s easier if I just play along. I’ll catch up,” I promised, shooting Brad a scowl. After another moment of deliberation, Nikki let out a huff and nodded.

“She comes back hurt or you get her in trouble, your ass is mine, Maddox,” she growled, and to my surprise Brad’s eyes actually widened. Nikki stared him down as she backed away, and then gave me a last worried look before heading for the locker rooms as well.

“We can do this the easy way, or the hard way,” I warned Brad, turning to glare up at him; his height was the only thing he had on me, and he knew it. Though he gave me a dubious scowl, he dropped his hold on me.

“Make yourself useful and go stop her!” he ordered, pointing towards the stage. My eyes widened at him. “She’s ruining the show!”

“You ruined it, you pansy ass!” I scoffed. “I don’t blame her! You’re lucky she’s not back here taking it out on you!”

Without warning, Brad’s hands locked onto my upper arms again and he shoved me back, out through the curtains and onto the stage. I could practically feel the crowd’s confusion; I broke his hold and went to throw a punch as he jumped away.

“Hey, hey, hey!” he said quickly, holding up his hands. “Use the anger on her! Get her backstage!” he pointed down the ramp, and then motioned for me to run after her. “Now!”

“No way!” I argued, moving to head backstage again. “Not my circus, not my monkey, Maddox!”

“Either bring her backstage right now or I’ll have Vickie make you my personal assistant!”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Does this look like a joke to you?” he demanded, pointing a finger at his face; I snorted, and he quickly backpedaled. “Go ahead, try me!”

Okay, so I had no idea if he could do that or not. But just the thought of having to report to Brad freakin’ Maddox made my stomach twist. Fighting him was just futile at this point, so I just threw up my hands, heading down the ramp.

AJ was flat out screeching at this point, throwing the ladders to the ground in a blind fury. I came around the corner of the ring slowly, arms held out; she caught my eye.

“AJ, hey,” I said, giving a tight smile. She dove and grabbed a discarded steel chair, flinging it at me. I dropped and felt it fly over my head, slamming into the ring post behind me. My wide eyes went to the chair, and then to her; this chick was crazy!

“Hey!” I shouted, inching closer. “AJ, stop it! Calm down! It’s over –“

Another chair flung at me; this time I caught it, and used it to deflect the table cover she threw at me as well. She let out an inhuman screech and literally upended one of the ladders at me.

Just barely ducking out of its path, I looked up to see AJ whirl and slap the poor timekeeper hard enough to knock him out of his chair. As she stood over him, seething, I threw the chair aside and dove forward.

Thankfully, she was the one person that wasn’t bigger than me. I wrapped her up easily as I ducked down, wrangling the thrashing woman onto my shoulders in a fireman carry.

She screeched indecipherable words the entire way up the ramp, a few loose elbows catching me in the jaw; I was going to kill Brad. Somehow I managed to get us into one of the back halls before she finally caught a hard hit to my temple. With a yelp of pain I dropped my hold and she slid onto her feet.

For just a moment, we both stood there, catching our breaths; slowly, I took a step back as AJ righted herself, eyes wide and wild. The furious diva looked around us, taking in the props and stage equipment with a heated stare. She let out a scream, and lunged forward, grabbing the closest thing to her.

“AJ!” I shouted, then ducked as she flung whatever she could in my general direction. Her screeches grew even more furious as she realized she was missing me. “Whoa! Hey! Stop it!” I cried, narrowly missing a few other carelessly thrown objects. Her chest heaved with anger as she stared down at me, clenching and
unclenching her fists.

She lunged at me and caught me off-guard, slamming her hands into my shoulders. I stumbled back and landed hard on my ass – again – and scrambled back, holding my hands up.

“I was just following orders! Hey! I’m not the one who screwed you over! I’m just – AJ! Stop!”

She had actually grabbed a metal pole from one of the open storage crates and whirled to face me again. Just as she took a step, John slipped in between and wrapped her up quickly.

“Hey, hey, hey, calm down, relax, just relax for a second,” he urged, catching my eyes over her shoulder and motioning for me to go. I nodded quickly and scrambled to my feet, backing down the hall as I mouthed ‘Thanks’. He grimaced in reply, reluctantly holding the furious diva at bay for me to make my escape.

--

“You are not going to get food on your own,” Bryan informed me, untangling himself from Brie as I paused at the locker room door.

“Oh come on,” I started, and he held up a hand, falling into step with me.

“It’s not even your safety I’m worried about. Your track record with bringing sustenance back is sub-par, and I’m actually hungry,” he laughed. “A block of cheese isn’t gonna cut it.”

“Hey! I had buns and a hotdog –“

“Half a hotdog.”

“Same thing!” I scoffed, and he just shook his head. “Fine. Be picky. Don’t appreciate my foraging.”

“I really don’t. If we were cavemen and our survival depended on your ability to bring back nourishment, we’d be dead in an hour.”

“Your words hurt, Bryan,” I informed him, pretending to wipe a tear off my cheek as we reached the back room.

Well, hello round two!

Damien and Cody were just leaving with plates of food, both looking absolutely livid with the outcome of Miz TV. Just the setup I needed.

“Ladies,” I greeted, giving a two-finger salute as we passed one another. Damien whirled and immediately bristled, face going bright red with alarming speed. Bryan and I paused as he snarled,

“You are just as bad as that absolute ignoramus! Just because I am more aesthetically pleasing than you doesn’t mean I’m –“

“Hey, hey, hey,” Cody said briskly, grabbing Damien’s arm and towing him back, shooting me a scowl. “We talked about this. Pick your fights. She’s just jealous of your hair, Damien. Take it as a compliment.”

“Did you really use ‘Honey Boo-Boo’ as an adjective, earler?” I asked the mustached man, raising a brow. Cody pressed his lips together and didn’t reply. “Come on, don’t be like that. I’m impressed! I’m totally using that, too, by the way. Oh, and when you’ve got some time, I would love your advice on how to handle a rat infestation.”

Cody narrowed his eyes, but he couldn’t resist giving in and asking,

“Why the hell would you talk to me about that?”

“Well, I mean, your infestation is at least secluded,” I began, tapping my upper lip; Bryan snorted and had to turn around to hide his laughter. This time it was Cody’s face that turned bright red. My best friend snagged my hand and pulled me into the room before I could cause any more trouble.

“What did Rhodes Scholars ever do to you?” he snickered as we began to attack the buffet table. I grinned and shrugged, popping a few fries into my mouth.

“Just wrong place wrong time for them, I guess. Damien’s my happy little accident.”

Bryan snorted again, actually having to run his hand down his face to keep himself together. After all, we were on a time crunch; forage and return before the end of the match. We’d left partway through John’s fight, unable to wait for food until after the show like the twins were doing. How they resisted ‘unlimited buffet’ was beyond me.

As Bryan meticulously piled another handful of chips onto his plate, I glanced at the TV. My jaw actually dropped as John lifted Big Show up onto his shoulders; holy shit!

“My back snapped just watching that,” Bryan said in amazement; I nodded my agreement, and we cheered as John slammed him down into an AA. Both he and Show laid wearily in the ring, too tired for either man to go for a pin.

“Move your ass, Cena!” I cheered through a mouthful of potatoes. As Bryan chuckled and went to reply, my stomach dropped. The crowd had gotten to their feet, pointing towards one of the aisles.

Oh, you’ve GOT to be kidding me –

Seth dove over the barrier to the left, scrambling into the ring and immediately tackling John as he tried to get to his feet. The bell rang; disqualification. Bryan actually whined as he put his plate of food on the table.

“Just one night, one night I’d like to eat my chicken and watch wrestling in peace,” he sighed as we locked eyes. We shared sympathetic frowns as the two of us turned and raced for gorilla position; we always seemed to end up here now. Why we even bothered to be anywhere else most nights, I didn’t know.

“Ay, it’s team No-Less!” Kofi cheered, clapping us on the back as we ran by. Bryan and I exchanged a look as we paused at the curtain, and with a mutual nod we fist-bumped and signaled for his music to hit.

Team No-Less was about to kick some ass.

Bryan’s music hit, and it filled the arena around us, pumping me up as I sprinted down the ramp with my best friend at my side. The Shield made a line between us and John, who was lying limp on the far side. Roman and Seth squared up for Bryan as Dean bend low, fists up, ready to intercept me.

Neither of us slowed as we reached the ring, both sliding under the rope and getting to our feet a heartbeat later. I dove for Dean and caught him by surprise, spearing him in the chest hard to take him onto his back.

We fell, tangled together, ending up with me straddling him in the center of the ring. There was a flicker of arousal in his eyes again, and my breath left me.

That was all he needed. Wrapping an arm around my waist, Dean stood easily and dragged me up too, and then tossed me back. I hit the turnbuckle, winded, and barely got my arms up to deflect his hits.

As angry as I was at him for earlier, as pissed about his doubt in my chances with Del Rio, I was glad he didn’t hold back on me in the ring. Most everyone I’d faced did – even when I’d been Renegade. But The Shield, as Dean had told me the other day, didn’t care. I was in their way, and I had to be dealt with.

“What part’a stay away escaped your understanding?” he growled, dropping his attack to grab my shoulders. The moment he did I slammed my hands into his chest. He actually stumbled back in surprise and again, stared at me with a mixture of annoyance and excitement. It was quickly becoming my favorite expression of his.

As he surged back towards me I spun and shoved him into the turnbuckle. He slumped over the ropes, wheezing, and I smirked in victory as I turned to help Bryan.

My smirk disappeared.

Big Show had gotten back in the ring. He slowly rose to his full height, grinning down at me like a kid at Christmas. I’d never felt smaller in the ring than I did at this moment. I mean, on a good day I was only a couple inches above the top rope. I didn’t even come to Big Show’s shoulder.

He took one step and I took three back. Usually I was optimistic about my chances. With all the other people, there wasn’t enough room to maneuver the ring like I’d need to in order to fight someone as big as him. He was gonna rip me in half.

Show lunged for a body slam. An arm wrapped around my waist from behind and I was spun on the spot. Dean threw me into the turnbuckle again and braced his hands on the ropes at either side of my shoulders.

Show slammed into him instead, and he took the brunt of the hit. He let out a pained grunt as he was jolted forward, but he kept himself from crushing me into the ropes. Dean Ambrose had just saved me from Big Show.

On instinct, my hands came up and caught his vest, keeping him from slumping as John ripped Big Show back to finish what they’d started earlier. He took a stumbled step into me, and without warning we were pressed up against one another again.

Sheamus’ music hit, and the others around us whipped into a fury, but again it was as if Dean and I were alone. He stared down at me, his unreadable expression making my whole body burn with excitement. Though my hands untangled from his vest, he didn’t move away.

But we were in the middle of a throw down, and there wasn’t time for any kind of playful flirting or meaningful stares right now. John had just plowed Big Show through a table; Ziggler, for some reason, had insisted on joining the fight. He and Sheamus were throwing each other around outside the ring. Bryan was being tag-teamed by the rest of the Shield, and that would be my focus.

As I moved to slip past Dean, he nudged me back into the corner and shook his head. He was still trying to protect me. Setting my jaw, I stared up at him defiantly as the anger from earlier began to surface.

“What, think I can’t take your boys? Like you thought I couldn’t handle Del Rio?”

His brow furrowed a bit. He actually seemed surprised by my accusation.

“Nah, Finch,” he said; the sound of my nickname rolling off his tongue soothed my anger just a hint. “Don’t like anyone else gettin’ their hands on you. If anyone’s gonna beat your ass, it’s gonna be me.”

He didn’t even get to flash me a cocky smirk as John ripped him back and threw him across the ring. Before he could check to make sure I was okay, Show dragged him back into their own fight.

With Dean stunned and tangled in the ropes opposite me, I took my chance. Roman was closest; I surged forward and wrapped my arms around his waist, throwing myself aside and actually managing to get Roman into a halfway decent powerslam.

Which, okay, really just made us both tumble awkwardly out of the ring. But hey, he was off of Bryan! It was clear myself and the irritated Samoan hadn’t been expecting that. Again, I met the less-than-amused scowl of Roman Reigns, and I immediately skittered back.

“Look, c’mon, I was just –“ Roman stood up, towering over me. Much less attractive than Dean looming over me. As he stooped, I crawled back for the barricade, trying to bat him away. He easily batted my hits away and hauled me up onto his shoulder like a sack of angry potatoes.

Seriously, I needed to fill my pockets with sand, or something. This whole ‘lightweight’ thing was getting annoying.

To my surprise, Roman turned for the ramp. For the tables set up along the barriers ahead of me. Oh god; a preview of what I’d be in for during TLC. Roman actually chuckled as I struggled to slide off his shoulder.

“Put me down, asshole!” I squeaked, actually worrying now as he began to maneuver me into prime throwing position.

FEED. ME. MORE.

Backup had arrived!

Roman actually froze in place, and spent half a second deliberating his chances of both putting me through a table and bracing for Ryback. Clearly, he didn’t like his odds. He reached up and, grabbing me by the waist, upended me and tossed me onto the ramp.

A squeak of surprise left me as I slumped down; Ryback paused by me long enough to help me sit up and ensure I was okay.

“Get ‘em, big guy!” I cheered, shoving to my knees. Bryan and John had both rolled out of the ring now; Big Show had taken off through the crowd, and Sheamus and Ziggler were caught up in their own little world. My friends circled to me as we watched Ryback rip the Shield apart.

They didn’t even get a chance to regroup; Ryback let out a roar and spun to take on the next one in the ring, but all three men scattered. Seth and Roman took off first, and Dean hesitated on the barrier.

Just long enough to give me one last wink before he ran away from the chaos he’d created.