96 HOURS
Monday 21st December 2015
Ava Johnson had fucked up a lot in her life; she'd be the first to tell you that. Between destroying valuable objects and trusting the wrong people, the 27 year old had made a lot of mistakes. This had to be her worst yet, and every moment that passed was another reminder of what she had done.
She had let Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns control the radio.
The newly crowned Intercontinental and WWE World Heavyweight champions didn't have a care in the world as they sang and rapped along to the music, much to Ava's dismay. Thankfully, there was only about 15 minutes left in the journey to the arena.
"I don't think I've ever regretted anything so much." Ava deadpanned with a slight shake of the head. Dean and Roman shared a look, knowing damn well that it was hyperbole. A few instances flashed to mind that would prove her wrong, like the time she let Dean convince her to drunk call Vince McMahon himself. The less said about that, the better.
"Come on, it was either us or a creepy taxi driver!" Dean reminded her, turning the music down ever so slightly.
"I should've taken my chances." That morning, Ava told Naomi and Tamina not to wake her up is she wasn't already awake half an hour before leaving. For some reason, they'd actually listened to her. This left her without a way of getting to the arena, but Dean and Roman bumped into her at the perfect time, like the angels they thought they were. Of course she was grateful that they'd given her a ride, but it was more fun to tease them than show gratitude.
"You would do something dumb like that." Roman stated. He wore sunglasses (why he did that in December Ava couldn't understand, but that was another issue), but she could perfectly picture the mischievous glint in his eyes as he spoke.
"Don't act like you wouldn't." Ava narrowed her eyes at him.
"You're cute when you're fake-mad." He flashed a smile at her through the rear-view mirror. For so long she had assumed she was immune to that smile of his, the very one that melted hearts everywhere.
From the way her own heart rate sped up and heat rushed to her face, it was clear that she thought wrong.
But then the boys started singing again.
"How about you carry my stuff inside?" Ava leaned against the car as she asked. Since they had got out of the car, Dean had disappeared to God knows where. This had left Roman as her only option, not that Dean would have said yes anyway.
"You say that like it's a challenge."
The Christmas spirit was rife inside the arena. Ava lagged behind him as she appreciated the attempts to add a festive glow. Aside from the decorations and lights, the make-up artists wore Santa hats, and even some executives had brightened up their wardrobe for the season. Even the door to the Diva's locker room was blessed with a wreath.
"Got anything planned for Christmas? Seeing family?" Roman wondered. Ava frowned instantly, unsure of why he bothered asking. Everyone knew the topic of family was off-limits for her, which made his question even weirder.
"Nah, it's just gonna be me." She noticed the way Roman's face fell at her answer, which equal parts annoyed and mollified her. Sympathy was the last thing she needed, but it was nice to know that he cared. "It's times like this I think I should get a pet, or something."
"You're always welcome to spend the day with my family."
"Don't worry about it." A silence fell upon them, somewhere between awkward and comfortable. Words of reassurance lay on the tip of Roman's tongue, but he knew those wouldn't work for Ava.
"I feel like there should be mistletoe here."
"Why, so I could reject you?" Roman didn't respond. Instead, he gave her a knowing smile and walked away, leaving her to her thoughts.
Monday 2nd March 2015 – 295 DAYS AGO
Ava saw it coming, but it still disappointed her nonetheless. It was the first time anyone in her family had contacted in months, just to tell her that they wouldn't be attending WrestleMania. She knew she shouldn't have bothered inviting them, it was only setting herself up to be hurt. It bothered her that this still upset her. She had once promised herself that she would stop caring about her family, especially seeing as they didn't care about her. That proved to be easier said than done.
"Did you hear me?" Roman's voice brought her back down to Earth. He was sat in front of her at catering, halfway through a sandwich. She turned her phone face-down, so he wouldn't have a chance to see her phone.
"No, sorry. I was out of it for a bit." She forced a laugh, but the rest of her face didn't match. The laugh didn't reach her cheeks, let alone her eyes.
"I said I liked your shirt." Ava looked down and realised she was wearing one of his 'I Can. I Will.' t-shirts. She tugged at the material, unsure of what to say.
"I've got to support my favourite wrestler, don't I?" she managed. In the back of her head, she only wished others could do the same.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, just tired." She got up from the table and scurried out of the room. Roman knew she was lying, but pressing the issue would be futile.
Jimmy Uso approached his wife, Naomi, backstage. She greeted him with a hug and kiss, as if they hadn't seen each other about an hour ago. This didn't bother him though, it was nice to know his wife loved him like that.
"Ay, you remember that bet we made after the Rumble?" he asked.
"That Dean would be bald by the end of the year?"
"No, the other one!"
"Oh, about Roman and Ava hooking up? What, you think you're gonna win?" Naomi had bet her husband that Roman and Ava would hook up by the end of 2015. At the time it seemed like a foregone conclusion, but as time went on it seemed more and more likely that it wasn't going to happen. For some reason, neither of them were making a move.
"Well shit, they've only got 10 days left." Jimmy poked his wife in the ribs. "You ready for all those massages you owe me?"
"Shut up. 10 days is more than enough time, I can still make this happen."
"You're gonna need a miracle." Jimmy snorted.
"That's what Christmas is all about, ain't it?"
A/N: Hope you enjoyed, I'll be updating everyday in the lead up to Christmas :)
