Basically, I told baybeetymz I'd write her a Cena/Gail fic, but with 4 other fics on the go, this isn't an option.
So, as an apology, here's a Gail/Justin one-shot :):)
Hope everyone likes it!
THE HIGHER THEY FLY
"Do you ever wish you could just eat whatever you wanted?" Eve Torres entered catering with an apple in her hand, and she sat down opposite fellow diva Gail Kim, who was sat alone, gazing at her cell phone. "Hypothetically, let's screw the diet. Think potato chips, candy bars and a whole load of deep fried goodness. How great would that be?"
"No way, it's all about the Italian food," Gail responded, "Huge plates of pasta, thin crust pizzas and bowls of ice-cream." Looking down at her leafy salad, it paled in comparison. "Reality sucks, doesn't it?"
Eve grinned back, combing her brown locks off of her face. "Totally," Gail wasn't sure if she knew Eve well enough to call her a friend; they were roommates but the conversation between them was always light.
Being on the road with someone twenty-four seven, you began to see their flaws. Eve was messy, slightly ditzy and a little self-concerned; not a bad person by any means, just one with faults. Not that Gail considered herself perfect; in fact, she had many faults. She was a complete neat-freak, and a perfectionist, as well as being a natural worrier. Both girls had their flaws, but Gail liked to think she was much more subdued. She tried to keep her habits under control, considering she spent so much time with Eve.
"Oh, by the way, I don't need a ride back to the hotel. I'm going out with Adam after the show."
"Adam?" Adam 'Edge' Copeland was the biggest playboy in the WWE. "I didn't know you two were dating."
"We're not 'dating'," Eve used her fingers as air quotes. "We're going on 'a date'."
"Yeah, but Adam's not exactly the most faithful guy in the company," Gail said gently. Ever the sensible diva, she was just looking out for Eve, and she didn't want to sound bossy. "Just watch out for him."
"I've got my guard up," Eve grinned. "So how's your love life?" The high-flying diva dipped her head, hiding the coy smile that sat on her lips. "Because I heard straight from the horse's mouth that John Cena was interested in you-"
"Cena?" Gail's head shot up; that wasn't who she was thinking of.
"That's not who you were thinking of?" Eve noticed Gail's shocked tone, and sense impending gossip. "So there's someone else?"
"Maybe..."
"Oh my God, who is it? Are you dating?"
"No, there just this one time when-"
"Guys!" The door of catering flew open, and Natalya Neidhart burst inside, almost breathless. Something must've been wrong; normally, the Hart diva was cool and composed. "Why aren't you watching the main event?"
"What's going on?" Gail asked.
"Follow me," Gail and Eve had to break into a sprint to keep up with Natalya, as they ran back to the divas locker room, where all the girls were huddled around a TV as the trio craned their necks to see the screen. Eventually, one of the Bella twins ducked down and on screen, the decimation of John Cena was visible. The season one NXT rookies were mauling the WWE champion, as he was helpless to the eight on one beatdown.
"That wasn't planned, was it?" Eve, one of John's close friends, was concerned for his wellbeing. "They're not even under contract! What're they doing here? And why is no-one going out to help him?"
"Apparently security isn't letting any of the other superstars through," Nikki responded, shaking her head at the screen. She couldn't believe what she was seeing; none of them could.
"Hey," Gail felt a squeeze of her elbow, and she turned to her left to see Natalya looking at her, concerned. "You're being awfully quiet. Are you okay?"
All Gail could do was nod, as she turned back to the screen to see the final nail in the coffin; a perfectly executed 450 splash by Justin Gabriel.
2 WEEKS PRIOR
Handing her car keys over to the valet, Gail watched the door of the arena from the other side of the parking lot. It was insane; who were they all waiting for? It definitely wasn't her; most likely it was Cena or Orton, all those crazy teenage girls waiting for autographs, pictures and kisses on their cheeks.
Gail didn't even notice Randy saunter past her casually, before approaching the chaotic crowd with ease. In amongst the madness, he signed scraps of paper and posed for pictures before disappearing inside. How did he handle it so coolly? Experience, Gail assumed. Sure, she was 'famous' but only to a certain extent. And she was particularly good at it. If people recognised her, she'd blush her way through conversations in which she'd nervously ramble, trying to sound coherent and enthusiastic. She was a shy person, and that probably came through.
Seeing what appeared to be an opening, as fans seemed uninterested, Gail decided to make her way inside, only a couple of members of the crowd politely stopping her.
"Ohmigod, it's John Cena!"
And everything changed.
The sight of 'The Champ' approaching the doorway sent the fans into a screaming hysteria with Gail trapped in the middle of it. Instead of waiting for John to come to them, the crowd went to John and Gail found herself being pulled along for the ride. She knew her bag and its contents had spilt somewhere along the way and she needed to get out, however these girls had formed a wall around her.
Suddenly, there was a tug at her elbow and Gail was strongly pulled out of the circle with a thud on the concrete floor beneath her.
"Fuck, I didn't mean to pull you that hard." Looking up, Gail found herself staring into the eyes of NXT rookie, Justin Gabriel. "Are you okay?"
In the past, Gail had had very little interaction with Justin. At that point, divas weren't involved in NXT and when Justin wasn't on NXT, he would be on Smackdown with his mentor Matt Hardy. She knew virtually nothing about him, only what her TV screen told her. He was a high-flying kind of wrestler – much like herself – and he was extremely good looking. With floppy dark hair, tanned skin and toned abs, he was like someone out of an Abercrombie & Fitch campaign.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Gail took the hand Justin offered her, allowing him to pull her to her feet. "Thanks, I needed to get out of that crowd."
"Crazy, aren't they?" He smirked over at John Cena, who had just managed to wean himself out of the crowd. "I'm glad it's not me over there."
"Your time will come," She smiled. He looked like a model; it surely wouldn't be long before those girls got their claws into him.
"I hope not. Insane wrestling groupies aren't the reason I got into the business."
"Oh?" She wanted him to elaborate, as they strolled into the arena together. And not just because of his gorgeous accent.
"I love the business!" Gail loved his enthusiasm. "It's my favourite sport, it's my life and it's...it's in my blood! I wouldn't want to be doing anything else."
"So what're you doing here on Raw tonight?"
"Just getting a feel for what it's like backstage. I've only been on Smackdown, but it's pre-recorded so I came to see what the 'flagship show' is all about."
"Well, the food in catering is limited, everyone's very stressed and the divas can be rude, to say the least."
"You included?"
"No, fluffy baby bunnies are scarier than me. I sometimes wonder if it's humanly possible for me to be a threat to my opponents. Girls like Beth and Nattie can go into the ring and just...psyche you out. I'd probably apologize for dropkicking you too hard."
Justin laughed, "Well, you're not rude but you're very funny."
"Thank you, thank you," She gave a small mock-bow. Upon noticing the upcoming divas locker room, there was a pang of disappointment in her stomach; she wanted to talk to him for much longer.
"You probably have a match to get ready for. Here,"
Gail hadn't even realised he's been holding the gym bag she'd previously dropped. Poking her head inside and rifling around, she checked everything was back in there. It was.
"I guess I'll see you around then?" He said hopefully.
She hoped so. "Yeah, sure." She gave him a smile. "And thanks for...you know...saving me back there." As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Gail realised how cheesy she'd sounded.
"It's fine. There's no better ego boost than saying a pretty girl in distress." He winked before beginning to walk down the corridor. "Bye Gail," He called over his shoulder.
"Bye Justin," She whispered, disappearing into the divas locker room.
Gail felt stupid for even holding out hope for Justin. Obviously she was wrong in thinking there was something between them. He hadn't been back at Raw since that night, and she certainly hadn't told anyone about it. What was she supposed to say? She and Justin had one conversation, she got her hopes up and never heard anything.
But he called her funny. And pretty.
"You think they're gonna strike again?" The silence in the divas locker room was broken by Jillian. She didn't need to say who she was referring to; the season one NXT rookies had been the talk of the wrestling world all week.
"Who knows?" Alicia shrugged, slipping off her wrestling boots with a sigh. "They're certainly making an impact around here, they've got everyone walking on eggshells. What do you think, Gail?"
Her head snapped up to look at her fellow divas. Alicia and Jillian weren't exactly her friends but the sense of panic on the Raw roster forced everyone into the same boat. "I guess appearances can be deceiving." She couldn't form an opinion on the situation; her mind was on Justin. He seemed so nice but she was so clearly mistaken. A nice guy wouldn't be a part of a threatening group. A nice guy wouldn't interfere in someone's match for no reason. A nice guy wouldn't attack another nice guy. What they did was practically criminal.
"-I mean, how do we know they're not going to attack the divas?" Jillian was still talking. "They're obviously spineless and capable of hurting people-"
Not wanting to listen anymore, Gail put on her hoodie and slung her bag over her shoulder, before muttering her goodbyes to Alicia and Jillian. Her match – and Raw as a whole – was nearly over and she saw no point in hanging around.
The backstage area was deserted. Normally completely buzzing with assistants, runners and wrestlers, there was no one around other than a selection of security guards, most of who were checking to see she wasn't one of the NXT group. Gail liked to think she could tie her hair into a ponytail without being mistaken for a guy but apparently this wasn't the case. Plus, none of the NXT group were Asian...
"You alright there, Miss Kim?" One of the guys inquired. Well, at least they knew she was a miss.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She fumbled into her bag and pulled out her iPod, pressing the earphones into her ears and making her way out of the arena. She didn't want to hang around anymore. "Hey!" She yelped, feeling a pair of hands digging into her sides. "What the-"
"Well, that wasn't the reaction I'd been hoping for." Turning around, she realised Justin was stood directly behind her, a smile on his face. He was obviously just about to leave the arena as well, dressed casually in jeans, sneakers and a grey zip-up hoodie, with his bag slung over his shoulder. "How are you, stranger?"
"Fine," She replied coldly, continuing to walk out of the arena, however Justin was hot on her heels. Seeing his shadow in front of her, Gail pulled out her earphones and sighed. "What do you want, Justin?"
"Jeez, what's with the frosty reception?" He looked surprised at her short temper.
"Well, you're hardly Mr Popular around here at the moment and I'm not exactly your number one fan either."
Justin sighed and rolled his eyes, running a hand across his dark hair. "Come on, Gail-"
"What do you want me to do, Justin?" She hissed as Anthony Carelli and Chris Mordetzky left the arena, both glaring at Justin and seemingly confused at his affiliation with Gail. "You want me to pretend that what happened didn't actually happen? You want me to ignore it?"
"It's just business." He replied calmly. "Do you realise what this is doing for our careers? Everyone is talking about Nexus! If we hadn't done this, we'd all be back in FCW, but this...this has propelled us!"
"Is it worth it?" She couldn't believe his lack of remorse. "You nearly ended John Cena's career...for what? Fifteen minutes in the spotlight and a couple of extra Twitter followers?"
"Why're you being like this? I told you, it's just business."
"You're a talented guy, Justin, you don't need shortcuts."
The words stopped in her mouth as she felt Justin take her hands in his and lace their fingers together, forcing everything in Gail's world to come to a standstill. Apart from her heartbeat which pumped a 'thud-thud-thud' at light speed. She breathed out, her exhale sounding breathy and shaky.
And then he kissed her.
It was only a short kiss, a couple of seconds and a brushing of lips but it sent Gail's head into a spin.
"Forget all this drama," Justin whispered, his fingers still locked into Gail's. "Forget Nexus, forget wrestling, let's just get out of here."
She didn't know how to respond.
"There's something between us, Gail and you can't deny it. We have a connection. Forget Nexus-"
"I can't." Gail let go of Justin so her hands swung limply by her sides. "You're not the guy I thought you were."
"Gail," He was beginning to sound frustrated. "I'm trying really hard here, give me a break."
"I can't 'give you a break' if you're willing to hurt innocent people in an attempt to further your own career. So it's me, or Nexus." They weren't even in a relationship and she was already giving him an ultimatum.
"That's not fair-"
"Neither was what you did to those camera men. Neither was what you did to Matt Striker and Jerry Lawler. Neither was what you did to John-"
"Hey Gail!" Both Gail and Justin had been too preoccupied to even notice the car pull up in front of them. The driver unwound his window and revealed himself to be Gail's date for the evening, John Cena. "Back off, man."
"Come on, Gail." Justin held out a hand.
At that point in time, Gail had two choices. She could follow her head and get in the car with John, as far away from Justin as she could possibly get, because he was obviously bad news. Or she could follow her heart and go with Justin, ignore his recent actions and deal with the consequences at a later stage.
But Gail was a natural worrier; it was one of her faults after all.
"I can't pretend last week didn't happen. I wish I could but..." Gail didn't know what the end of that sentence was so instead, she got into the car with John.
"Was he bothering you?" John asked, starting up the engine.
"No, it's fine."
"So are you still up for going out tonight? I was thinking we could catch a movie downtown. Sound good?"
"Sure," Watching out of her window as Justin got further into the distance, he slipped the hood of his grey sweatshirt over his head before disappearing back into the arena. Gail ignored the burning feeling that sat in her stomach, telling her she made the wrong choice.
THE FASTER THEY FALL
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