Notes:

/Rubs my little hands together/ I have finally planned out one of my first entirely-planned-out multi-chapter fics and I'm very excited to have it starring my two favorite wrestlers! All I really have to say is that all real names used belong to their respective owners, and enjoy the ride.

"This equation isn't quadratic, but rather exponential because it has growth and decay-"

"April," Her friend Celeste groaned, hitting her head again and again on her textbook. "You've already tried explaining this problem to me four times already. Can't we just skip over it?" She looked up at her friend hopefully, clasping her hands together in a mock-prayer stance.

April glanced at her quickly, pushing up the glasses that were perched on her nose. "If you can't get this problem now, then the rest aren't going to make sense either," She replied. She brushed her brown hair behind her ear and let out a small sigh of frustration.

April loved Celeste, she really did, but sometimes her words went in one ear and out the other. Explaining things just became a chore. A really repetitive chore.

The girls had ended up in their current predicament because Celeste had asked her roommate and friend, April Mendez, if she could help her with her math homework. Their professor didn't check if they did homework or not, but he had warned them that if they didn't keep up, then they would more than likely fail their tests if they had no idea what the problems were about. April didn't mind at first, seeing as the lessons that they were learning wasn't too hard for her to understand. That didn't mean she enjoyed the work, but she could still help someone if they needed it. In this case, Celeste needed her help and she obliged. But it wasn't going as smoothly as April thought it would.

"Can't we at least take a break?" Celeste cried, earning a few dirty looks from the other people around them in the campus library. April could see how her friend's eyes would strain against the pages, her hands shaking slightly from the exertion. She gave another sigh; it wasn't fair to let Celeste to be so frazzled about it.

"Okay, but only for fifteen minutes. We still really need to hit the ground running on this," She conceded, looking at Celeste and giving her a small smile.

"Oh God, thanks April." The blonde slunk back into her seat and took out her cellphone, already texting back whoever it was she was holding back on.

April rolled her eyes, but it was all in good humor; she wasn't as serious as everyone thought she was. Truthfully, everyone on her college campus - Pons Colossus University - already thought of her as a serious prude who only cared for her studies. She knew that wasn't entirely true, but it didn't help that she was in the top fifteen percentile of her graduating class in trying to prove them otherwise. Well, not that she had anything to prove; she didn't care what they thought about her.

Yet, she couldn't help but feel that it wasn't that she wanted to be a top student, but she had already gone through so much in her life that not doing the best that she could would be a total waste.

So here she was, in a great university trying to trudge through her classes to make her mother and sister proud. The only class that April really enjoyed was her Lit class. Even though she was a comic book nerd through and through, she was a sucker for old books - dusty books that never failed to present new themes, characters, and dialogue with a certain flair. She even admired the professor that taught the course; Professor Dumas. April hoped that her life wouldn't have so many roller coasters, and that she would arrive at her destination - her future career - without any distractions, much like her professor.

But she could only reach her goal if she put the pedal to the metal.

Of course, that's why she applied and made sure she got into Pons Colossus University. It was named one of the best colleges in the state, and it was close to giving Harvard and Princeton a run for their money. April wanted to make her mom proud, so through her blood, sweat and tears, she was admitted into the college on a full ride. She was so proud of her, and nothing made her happier.

It may have been a hard life, but she was incredibly happy that she had made it this far. And her friend Celeste, although seemingly ditzy on the surface, was an incredible strategist, so getting into Pons was a no-brainer. What she made up in strategy, she lacked in mathematical analytics which is why she had called for April's help in the first place.

Speaking of Celeste, her friend was now looking at April, clutching her phone in her hands. There was no other way to describe the look in her eyes other than expectancy. She gave a groan, already anticipating what it was that Celeste needed to do now.

"I'm sorry! Phil just texted me and he wants us to meet up," She said, trying to curb April's desire to give her a smack upside the head.

"How and why is Phil more important than our study session?" April was now at a total loss, not even sure if trying to keep the blonde in the library was worth all the hassle. Even more so now that Phil of all people called her over.

"We're on a break anyway, April. And I don't think it should take more than fifteen minutes - half an hour at the most. Please, when I come back I'll study super super hard! Please," Celeste elongated the last 'please', but when she was given another glare from the students around her, she continued whispering her 'please'.

April didn't want to continue fighting her on this if they weren't going to get anywhere in the end. She might as well let her go; besides, if it wasn't going to take that long, then she could do some studying of her own with the free time. And if she'd be back in fifteen minutes . . .

"Fine. But don't take too long - I expect you to be back here as quickly as you can so we can continue and finish this lesson," She rushed out the rest of her words since Celeste was already a flurry of blonde and black hair, gathering the stuff she needed together and leaving her textbook and notebook untouched on the table.

"I'll be back in fifteen minutes! Thank you so much," Celeste whisper-exclaimed as she gave her friend a peck on the cheek and in no time, the winds she had stirred fell flat once she was out the library doors.

April sat a few minutes, looking at the door and wondered where she went wrong.

Sure, studying was a bore, but was Celeste really that eager to get away from her? She'd be the first to admit that she wasn't as fun as the majority of sorority girls and frat boys, but that was because life hardened her! Well . . . it wasn't really an excuse, now that she thought about it. Plenty of people had hard lives, but they still came up on top and seemed to be happy-go-lucky. Even then, she wouldn't be as fun as Phil, that's for sure.

April put her hand to her forehead to hide when she rolled her eyes. Phil Brooks: the student teachers dreaded to have in their class, and the guy other girls (and sometimes other guys) would totally swoon over. April honestly didn't understand his appeal; to her, he was just a disruptive person who thought that his quips were "Grade-A quality", and that he could just talk himself out of any situation he didn't want to deal with because he was just that good.

It annoyed April as a person who tried to be honest whenever she could that some guy could just waltz in and talk his way out of anything. Not only was he a smooth talker, but he had a bad reputation in any relationship he was in. The amount of times she had overheard girls cry out in anguish because he had dumped them and left them to dry, and somehow they still loved him. He was currently dating Celeste, and April didn't want her friend to show her distaste so she kept quiet (for the most part). She never saw them together that much, anyway.

It was hard to stay on the sidelines and see her friend date a guy that she knew would do her wrong. Now that she thought about it, why did she let Celeste be with a guy that was no good for her? A guy that April knew would transform her friend into a broken, love-struck girl if he ever hurt her?

Damn it, she shouldn't have let her go see him! April took out her phone and looked down to check the time. She noticed that Celeste hadn't even been gone ten minutes when April made her decision to go after her.

Just as she was about to gather her things and text the blonde to ask her where she was, the brunette could see the shadow of someone taking Celeste's old seat out of the corner of her eye. To other people, another person - uninvited - coming to sit at their table in the library would have been a surprise and most unwelcome. But April knew who it was, and she gave another tired sigh, setting down her things once more.

"What do you want, Bryan?" She looked back to see that Bryan Danielson was sitting across from her, his blue eyes trained on her so intensely as if she would disappear if he blinked. Technically, he wasn't wrong. He was the last person she wanted to see right now.

"What, I can't sit down and chat with one of my betters?" Bryan gave her a sarcastic look, which she took as a challenge. April knew how much it hurt him to even joke about it, so she took it to her advantage.

"Your better actually has other things better to do, so if you don't mind-" She began to get up, but the look that he gave her suggested that she sit down. She obliged, albeit unwillingly.

April didn't understand how he still had so much control over her, even though he was only a few centimeters taller than her and she was younger than him. The only thing that made her better, was her intellect - in the end, she was smarter than Bryan, and that reflected in their class rank. She was one class rank above him, and it killed him.

"I actually do mind, April. And I need to talk to you about the project Professor Hogan is about to give out," He said leaning towards her, his hands folded on the table.

Prof Hogan was the World History Professor of the university and was known to be - for the most part - very laid-back and fun among both students and co-workers alike. But he was also notorious for giving out projects that were an entire semester's worth of tests, and that in order to succeed, you had to be honest. And he hoped that his students would reflect those values, otherwise they would basically drown in his class. April had chosen the class for the rigor she knew she could handle, and Bryan chose the class because she did. Typical.

"The one about about powerful partnerships throughout history?" April recalled that Hogan insinuated that the project would need "a binderful of documents and stuff" (his words, not hers) in addition to a verbal presentation with two people representing the individuals, countries, dynasties, etc. which is why the project required two people.

"Yeah, and we're supposed to pick partners soon and I have an inkling that you don't have a partner yet." His mouth was curved into a smile that April assumed was anything but friendly.

All of a sudden, April knew where he was going with this conversation.

"No, absolutely not, Danielson." The brunette looked at him in disbelief. She knew him well enough that his idea to become partners were totally laced with bad intentions. She knew that as well as she knew that the earth revolved around the sun.

"Why not, April? We'd be a great pair! On this project, I mean." He held his hands in front of him defensively, hoping that she wouldn't twist his words into something he didn't mean.

"Because you hate me, for starters." She shook her head and pressed her fingers to her temple, praying that she wouldn't end up with a headache from this conversation.

"Well I wouldn't say hate-"

"You want to beat me, then. And don't try to deny it." She finally looked at him fully, noticing that he wasn't the same baby-faced Bryan Danielson that she had first met. Which was all the way back in her first year of college, surprisingly. He now sported a scruffy beard, and it actually made him look like an older guy struggling through his studies.

April didn't mean that he wanted to physically beat her, although she wouldn't be surprised if he did. During their three years in college, Bryan had made it his mission to beat her rank, but he always fell one place behind her. That was his mission ever since he met her - ever since he even heard about her, he had wanted to beat the girl that had come to the university purely based on merit, and not because she had to pay her way through. In his goal to defeat her, she had gotten hurt in the process. She wouldn't have, had he told her what his intentions were.

"I never denied that I still want to beat you-"

"Then what, what is it, Bryan?" She slightly flinched in knowing that he hadn't changed.

"Could you just let me finish?" He exclaimed in frustration, garnering looks from the library patrons at his sudden outburst. He glared at them in response and ran a hand through his beard, trying to gather his bearings.

"Fine," April huffed, crossing her arms. He sure as hell didn't deserve her patience, but he could spit out whatever it was he wanted to say so he could leave sooner, then so be it.

"Look, I know we've been going at each other's throats for months, but that doesn't mean that we couldn't work on this project together. Any other person I would work with in that class wouldn't give me the quality work that I know you are capable of giving, April." Bryan now had his hands clasped around hers, his eyes trying to convince her the honesty of his words.

April pursed her lips and her brown eyes moved from his hands to his face, studying the man and putting two and two together.

"Let me guess; any other person you would work with would lower your grade and your placement even further, is that right?" She felt triumphant when his pupils dilated in being caught between her succinct truth, and his beautified version of the truth. Right there, she noticed the chink in his armor.

"Pretty much," He admitted, letting go of her hands when he knew that he couldn't convince her of something that she saw right through.

"And what if I told you no? I'm not as nice as when you met me, Bryan. Things have changed." Even though April was a serious person already, she had become even moreso when she looked at him. He didn't deserve any kindness from her, that's for sure. Which is what she would've given him, had it been two years ago.

"Things have changed - I don't doubt that. But are you willing to risk your grade because of your pride?" Bryan was back to taunting her.

"I should be asking you that, Bryan. Let me sleep on it," She said finally, gathering her textbooks and notebooks, hoping that he would get the hint.

She didn't even know why she was giving him an opportunity or even a thought that they could possibly work together, but here she was, giving him some sort of hope. Honestly, she just wanted to leave. With every passing second, he was making her increasingly uncomfortable which is something she tended to avoid whenever she could.

"Yeah, sure!" His demeanor immediately brightened as his eyes followed her and she became a flurry of hands and books. His mouth curved into a smirk; he finally got what he wanted. "Should I find you later?"

"Don't," April said simply, adjusting her bookbag strap on her shoulder as she went out the library doors.

Once she breathed in the air outside, she could feel her cluttered head clearing up bit by bit. April didn't know that even a place she considered a second home could be so stifling, although being pestered by unwanted visitors could be partly the reason. She wasn't so adamant about letting people who she liked visit her at the library, but then again, the only person she really liked was Celeste-

Celeste!

Damn it, she forgot that she was the reason April needed to leave the library in the first place. And she didn't even know where her friend was, let alone going off to try and find her. April slid out her phone and quickly tapped out her friend a quick ''where are you?" message, hoping that she would respond as soon as possible.

In the meantime, wandering around the campus sounded like a much better plan than just standing and waiting for Celeste to answer.

The idea was sped up when she heard a wolf whistle seemingly out of nowhere. She glanced around, hoping to see the jerk that whistled at her, and she knew that it was for her because of Bryan's previous actions towards her. Now whenever she was alone and in a public space on campus, she would hear someone whistle at her as if she were some cheap piece of display jewelry to ogle at and grossly admire. April only heard snickering, no matter how quickly her eyes darted around the trees, buildings, and people in trying to connect the sound to the face making it.

The whistling annoyed her more than anything, and April had learned to either deal with it accordingly or just ignore it entirely. She'd be lying though if she didn't admit that she was afraid that the whistling would turn into something else. Something more sinister, like the stories that everyone heard about the girls on campus that were careful, but not careful enough.

April shook her head, trying to dissipate the thoughts and sped forward even more quickly. Her nervousness was making her more antsy.

Where was Celeste?