I Can't Help Falling In Love With You
Ariwa Stevenson is the newest diva on RAW. Vince puts her in a storyline as Randy's on-screen girlfriend. What happens when she starts to fall for him outside of the show and vice versa. Can she truly be happy with him or will it just end in heartache.
Chapter 1
"I'm finally here." 28 year old Ariwa Stevenson thought to herself as she pulled her black ghost flames Chevy Silverado extended cab into the back of the Staples Center arena.
She took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. Then she got out of her truck, retrieved her bag from the back and headed inside. She headed to find the Woman's Locker Room. She found it and stepped inside noticing all the divas were already there. Gail looked up from her bag as Ariwa stepped inside.
"New diva?" Gail asked.
"Yeah, Ariwa Stevenson." Ariwa replied.
"Let me introduce you to everyone," Gail said, "Over there in the left corner is Natalya, Eve and Maryse and in the right corner is Tamina, Alicia, Nikki and Brie and I'm Gail."
"Hello." The other divas said.
"Hello." Ariwa replied.
"Ari is that really you?" Natalya asked.
"Yes Nattie it's really me." Ariwa answered.
"Oh my God girl, I thought they'd never sign you." Natalya replied rushing over and pulling her best friend into a hug.
"I know, I've been waiting for like ever." Ariwa said hugging her back.
"There's a possibility…"
"Oh hang on a second." She replied pulling her phone out of her pocket.
It was a text message. She pushed the buttond that said 'view' and it read:
Tonight you will be introduced as Randy's mystery girlfriend and will accompany him to the ring for his match as well.
Your RAW General Manager
Natalya saw the text message too.
"I was wondering who they would put as Randy's mystery girlfriend," Natalya said, "are you okay with that Ari?"
"Yeah Nattie I am actually." Ariwa replied. "I mean he can't be that bad of a guy off camera."
"I couldn't tell you, Tyson, David and I don't normally socialize with him." Natalya said.
"Well I guess I should get changed." Ariwa replied.
"Alright." Natalya said.
She found a spot and got an outfit out of her bag, went into the bathroom and changed. Ten minutes later she emerged from the bathroom and put her street clothes into her bag.
"That outfit is hot girl." Natalya said. "Randy's probably gonna be tongue tied when he see's you."
"Thanks." Ariwa replied.
Her outfit consisted of a black v-neck halter top with ghost flames on it, a black leather mini skirt and black knee high, high heeled boots.
"I better go find Randy." Ariwa said. "I'll see you later Nattie."
"Ok, see you later Ari." Natalya replied.
Ariwa left the locker room and made her way down the halls looking for Randy. She turned a corner that led to the third hallway and saw Randy from a distance talking to John Cena. She headed their way. John saw her halfway down the hall, nudged Randy and pointed down the hall. Randy looked in the direction that John was pointing. His drw dropped open when he saw her. She was about 6'0", perfectly fit body with some muscle, long waist length black hair, intoxicating emerald-green eyes, incredibly full lips and a very sexy yet mischivious smile. She came to a stop five feet from them.
"You're drooling Randy." She said reaching her hand out closing his mouth.
Realization dawned on him then.
"Ari?" he asked.
"Yep." She said with a smile.
He scooped her up for a hug and crushed her to him.
"Can't…breathe…Randy." She replied gasping.
"Sorry." He said putting her down.
She stedied herself after she was back on her feet.
"Wow, I barely recognized you. As soon as you said 'You're drooling Randy' and closed my mouth, I knew. That's what you said to me the first time we met, remember." He said chuckling lightly.
"Oh, I remember, I thought you would never stop drooling. You were speechless for like two minutes, then when you finally started talking you were messing up your sentences. I thought it was amusing that I had that kind of effect on you." She replied laughing lightly.
"I hear voices in my head…"
Randy pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw that he had a text message. He pushed the button that said 'view' and it read:
I hope you are pleased with her as your on-screen girlfriend. Tonight you will introduce her as such. She will accompany you to the ring and either before or after your match you will kiss her.
Your RAW General Manager
He showed her the message. She read it and then showed him the message she received just after she arrived.
"As you can see I wasn't given notice that you were gonna kiss me, but it's okay." She said.
"Well this should definitely be interesting." He replied with a smile.
She noticed the smile and raised an eyebrow.
"What I'm a sucker for a beautiful woman." He said.
"Oh, I know, Randy, I know." She replied.
"Uh um." John cut in.
"Oh sorry John." Randy said. "John this is Ariwa Stevenson."
"It's nice to meet you Ariwa." John replied sticking out his hand.
"Nice to meet you John." She said shaking his hand. "Oh and it's Ari for short."
"Good to know." John replied.
"I better get changed so I'm ready." Randy said.
"I'll come with you." She replied.
He raised an eyebrow and she noticed.
"It's not like that Randy. I just thought that we should go over everything." She said dashing his hopes slightly.
"Oh, okay." He replied slightly bummed.
"Catch you later." John said.
"You too." Her and Randy replied in unison.
They left down the hallway. He made a turn to the left went down the next hallway stopping in front of the sixth door. He opened the door and guestured for her to come in. she stepped in and jumped a little when the door slammed shut. She went to go sit down on the couch but he blocked her way. He placed his hands on the door on either side of her head and looked her in the eyes. She looked back.
"Are you okay with this?" he asked her. "Be honest please. I'm not going to force you to do something you're not comfortable with."
"I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Vince, Linda, Shane, Stephanie and Natalya." She replied. "Yes, I am okay with it, Randy."
"I just wanted to make sure." He said.
He put his arms down and moved to the side to let her pass. She went and sat down on the couch. he went over to his bag and got his ring gear out. Then he went into the bathrom to change. Ten minutes later he emerged ready.
"Alright, lets head to where Josh Mathews does the interviews." He said.
"Ok, where do you want me to stand?" she asked.
"How about I show you when we get there." He suggested.
"Ok, sounds good to me." She replied.
They left his locker room and made their way to where Josh would be conducting the interview. They arrived and he had her stand about ten feet away. She decided to sit on one of the crates, so she hopped up and took a seat. The show started off with two matches before Josh was showed on camera.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome my guest at this time, Randy Orton." Josh said.
Randy stepped into view of the camera right next to Josh and the crowd cheered like crazy.
"There's been a lot of rumors backstage that you have a mystery girlfriend, Randy." Josh said. "Is it true or just rumors?"
"There's been talk for months now about whether or not I have a mystery girlfriend. So I'm here to set the record straight." Randy replied.
"Please continue." Josh said.
"Yes I do and she should be here anytime." Randy replied.
"Oh Randy, sweetie." Ariwa said.
The camera panned to show her sitting on the crates. She got down and walked over to him as the camera followed her. The crowd went nuts as soon as they recognized her from the promos for the newest diva coming to RAW. Randy swept her up into a hug and then he kissed her. She surprised him by kissing back, but he had no complaints. The crowd went nuts again.
"Does your girlfriend have a name or do we call her Randy's mystery girlfriend?" Josh asked.
"Now Josh please don't insult my intelegence by acting stupid. I know you know who I am. The fans now know. If you don't then maybe this will help." She answered and then gave a smirck that could rival anyone of Randy's.
Josh suddenly realized who she was.
"You're the new diva that has been promoted for the past few months. All it said was 'coming soon', but the promos didn't give a specific date." Josh said.
"Well there should be no problem because I'm here now." She replied. "Name's Ariwa.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here." Came Edge's voice.
Edge walked into view of the camera. When the crowd caught sight of him they booed.
"Let me guess Randy, she's your slut of the week." Edge said.
Randy narrowed his eyes, the crowd booed Edge for that remark and she surprised everyone by laughing.
"Oh, he's got jokes." She replied. "Tell me something, Mr. Rated R Retard."
Randy laughed at that. Edge got into her face. Randy went to get in between but she held up her hand to stop him.
"Ooh, I can see it in your eyes, you want to hit me or spear me, go ahead Edge, do it." She taunted.
"You're not worth it." Edge replied.
"Awww, he's afraid that he'll be beat by Randy if he does. Looks like the Rated R Retard has no guts." She egged on.
"I've got plenty of guts. You're just an insignificant little bitch that's not worth my time." Edge retorted evenly.
"You're tredding on very dangerous ground, Edge." Randy replied menacingly.
"Am I now, I don't think so, Randy." Edge said slyly.
"This is your only warning Edge, one more nasty word about my girlfriend and I'm going to punt you in the head." Randy replied coldly.
"Ooh, I'm so scared." Edge mocked.
"Just watch yourself Edge." Randy threatened.
"Come on Randy, he's not worth it." She replied tugging on his arm. "Besides you need to focus on your opponent for tonight."
"Oh, one more thing." Edge said. "Ariwa, if you ever want a real man you know where to find me."
"I would hardly call you a real man." She retorted evenly.
Randy smiled at that remark. They left Edge standing there fuming at her last comment. As soon as they were out of sight of the cameras and out of earshot of the microphones Randy stopped and turned to her.
"You really gave him a mouthfull." He said.
"Well you'll get a nasty response from me if you say something nasty to me." She replied. "Plus he deserved it, he really gets on my nerves."
"I would have to agree with you on that." He said.
"I'm curious about something Randy." She replied.
"And what would that be Ari?" he asked.
"How in the world did you put up with that man when you were part of Rated RKO?" she asked.
"At the time it was because we had a common enemy." He answered. "But looking back I kind of wished I really hadn't become a tag team with him 'cause I don't think it helped my career any."
"True. But at least you have the fact that you were the youngest World Champion in the history of the WWE. He didn't win a major title until he was like in his thirties I believe." She replied. "Maybe late twenties."
"I remember that night, I beat Benoit for the title and then the next night on RAW, Hunter, Dave and Ric kicked me out of Evolution." He said harshly.
"I wasn't particularly happy with them for that either." She replied with a frown.
Then the frown turned to a smile.
"I hope all the gifts you've gotten throughout your career were satisfactory." She said.
"They were from you?" he asked surprised.
"Yes, I thought that if you knew someone remembered you for who you are inside, then you would be happy." She answered.
"Every gift came with a card that always said 'FROM AN OLD FRIEND' but nothing more." He replied. "No matter how hard I thought I never could figure out who they were from. But you made a mistake on the card for the most recent gift. It said 'STOP DROOLING, FROM AN OLD FRIEND'. I knew the last gift was from you but I wasn't sure about all the others."
"I wanted to make it a challenge. I figured that if I said who they were really from then you would think I was stalking you and I kind of didn't want to give you that idea." She confessed sheepishly.
"I honestly never would have thought that. I remember that a lot of the gifts always came after something bad happened to me. I remember the night Hunter broke my collarbone, that night and every day after that I got like five gifts." He replied. "They were all CD's that I wanted but hadn't gotten yet. I remember because I wrote a list, but I think I don't remember where I put that list. Oh now I remember, I had it in the hospital, but after I got out, it was gone so I thought it must have been thrown away."
He studied her face.
"Wait a second, you took it." He said when he saw the guilty look come onto her face.
"Guilty." She confessed. "I was there when you got out of surgery. You were still out of it from the anesthetic. I remembered that you once said you started a list of CD's you wanted to get. So I looked in your stuff and when I found it I put it into the back pocket of my purse. Then I left the CD's that I had bought on the table next to the bed along with the balloons and a teddy bear and then went back to training."
"Well thank you. All of the fans pretty much cheered when they found out I was injured." He said. "Just once I was hoping that there was someone that was cheering for me to get better."
"Well guess what, you had one. Me. I know it might sound stupid coming from me, seeing how I'm officially employed by WWE, but I'm still a fan and a fan of yours no less." She replied. "I always have been."
"Well thank you, that really means a lot. At least someone cheered for me when everyone else didn't." He said smiling.
"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't support you?" she asked honestly.
"Not much of one, I guess." He answered. "Truth be told I wouldn't have been mad, but all the same I'm glad you did."
"That's what friends are for." She replied smiling.
"There's a possibility…"
She pulled her phone out and saw she had a text message. She pushed the 'view' button. It read:
Randy's match is against Ted DiBiase Jr. tonight. If Maryse is at ringside feel free to take care of her if she tries to interfere at all.
Your RAW General Manager
She showed the message to Randy. He gave a little smirk and she did as well when she saw the smirk on his face.
"Oh Maryse is in for a big surprise if she's down there and gets involved." She said deviously.
"Knowing Ted, he'll most likely have her try to distract the referee." He replied.
"And I'll be ready." She said.
They heard DiBiase's music start to play so they headed to the entrance and watched on the monitor as Ted made his way to the ring with Maryse. They noticed a microphone in his right hand.
"Oh great, we get to hear the privileged words of the fortunate son." She said sarcastically.
He snickered at her comment then looked back to the monitor.
Ted was holding the ropes open for Maryse. She entered the ring and walked to the middle. He entered and went to stand next to her. He raised the microphone to his lips and the crowd booed him.
"Now I know why you all came here. To see us." Ted said.
The crowd booed him even more. Randy and Ariwa rolled their eyes.
"You all get to watch as I beat the ever living crap out of my opponent tonight. And when I win, Maryse and I will celebrate with a nice candle lit dinner at a five star restaurant." He said. "So I want all of you to pay attention as I give my opponent a vicious beating…"
"I hear voices in my head, they come to me, they understand, they talk to me…"
Randy made his way to the stage with Ariwa right beside him. The crowd cheered like crazy. Ted groaned and Maryse's eyes bugged out of her skull. Randy slowly made his way to the ring keeping his eyes on Ted. Ariwa did the same keeping her eyes on Maryse. She climbed the ring steps and entered the ring, Randy followed her lead. Then he went over to the right turnbuckle closest to the timekeeper and climbed onto the second turnbuckle and did his entrance pose, she pointed her left hand at him while standing by the ropes facing the hard cam and smiled. Randy climbed down from the turnbuckle and slowly turned around to face Ted. She walked over to him and placed a kiss on his cheek and then climbed out of the ring. Maryse climbed out of the ring as well. She stood on the left side of the ring while Ariwa stood on the right. The referee signaled for the bell and it rang. Randy and Ted locked up. Randy got the upper hand and the beat down ensued. Randy took his time. Maryse didn't like how the match was going so she got up on the apron to distract the referee. Ariwa was having none of that and ran around to the other side of the ring, grabbed Maryse by the feet and pulled her off. Maryse's face made contact with the apron and when she turned around she was nailed with an 'RKO' by Ariwa. Ted saw the whole thing and started yelling at her. She acted like she did nothing wrong. Ted turned around and was nailed with an 'RKO' by Randy. Randy covered for the win. She entered the ring, walked over to him and hugged him. He hugged her back. Then they left the ring and headed to the back holding hands. Once backstage they let go of each other's hand.
"I'll catch you later Randy." She said.
"Alright catch you later Ari." He replied.
She headed down the halls to the Woman's Locker Room. Once there she stepped inside. She went over to her bag and got her street clothes out of her bag, went into the bathroom and changed. Ten minutes later she emerged. She went over to her bag, put the outfit that she wore to the ring in it and zipped it closed. Then she sat down and watched The Hart Dynasty pick up the win over The Uso's and Tamina. Natalya walked into the locker room five minutes later.
"Congrats Nattie." Ariwa said.
"Thanks Ari." Natalya replied.
"I'll see you next week, Nattie." Ariwa said.
"Okay." Natalya replied.
Ariwa walked over to Nattie and gave her a hug and got one in return. Then she grabbed her bag and left the locker room. She was halfway to the exit when she heard her name being called.
"Ariwa, do you have a minute." Adam called.
She sighed and turned around.
"What do you want, Adam?" she asked a little annoyed.
He came to a stop five feet from her.
"I just wanted to apologize for earlier tonight. It wasn't my idea to insult you like that." He said.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and brought up a text message and showed it to her. She read it. He could see that she was getting upset.
"I'm really sorry, Ariwa." He apologized.
"It's not your fault." She sighed in response.
"I'll see you around." He replied.
"Okay." She said.
He turned and walked back the way he came. She turned and headed to the exit. She pushed the door out of her way and made her way to her truck. She put her bag in the back then climbed into the driver's seat, buckled up, started the engine and then took off for the hotel. She arrived and checked in and then went up to her room to get some sleep.
Around 2am her phone started vibrating. She waited until it stopped vibrating and then picked it up and saw that she had a voice message. She pushed the 'listen' button and put the phone to her ear.
"Hi cupcake, I know you'll be in Sac next week, so I'm gonna stop and see you."
She hung up the phone and tossed it onto her bag at the foot of the bed. She layed back down and five minutes later she fell back asleep.