"Why did I let Dean talk me into putting my name down for the Mixed Match Challenge?" Seth Rollins muttered to himself. It was a question he had been pondering for a few minutes, sitting at a table by himself in catering, backstage before a Smackdown episode. He could have been home by now if he hadn't signed up for the tournament.
"It'll be a laugh," Dean had said.
Seth had lost track of the amount of times he, Dean and Roman had ended up doing something stupid as a result of one of them, usually Dean, saying that particular sentence. But then, maybe Dean was right, Seth considered. Depending on who he ended up partnered with, maybe it would be a laugh. Someone like Bayley would be a lot of fun to team up with.
Having a laugh wasn't the main reason Seth had put his name down as an entrant, though. What had persuaded him was that the winners of this year's Mixed Match Challenge would receive a shot at their brand's top titles, in Seth's case the Universal Championship. In his opinion, it was long past time that he held that particular championship, and if this was the way he had to go about getting the shot, he was prepared to do it.
Dean re-entered catering, walking with a swagger and wearing a smug grin on his face. He looked pleased with himself, and that meant he was happy with the partner he had been given for the tournament. That was where he had been for the past few minutes, in Shane McMahon's office, where people were being told who they had been assigned to work with.
"Come on then, who you got?" Seth asked his brother as he neared the table.
"Guess," Dean said, slumping back onto the chair he had recently vacated. He took a glance at his coffee cup, reminding himself that he had already emptied it before leaving the table.
"Rousey," Seth said, with no rhyme or reason behind the guess.
"I wish. You could hand us the trophy now," Dean said.
"Alright then, who is it?"
"Bliss," Dean said, his smile broadening.
"Very nice," Seth opined. Who wouldn't want to team with Alexa Bliss? Not only was she a former Women's Champion on both Raw and Smackdown, she was incredibly beautiful, and had a lot of sass about her, which Seth liked.
"That's what I thought," Dean said. "What do you say to fifty bucks on which one of us hits our partner first?"
"No bet," Seth said, waving him off. "I don't even know who I've got yet, and you want me to commit to trying to get them in the sack. Besides, what if it's Sonya?"
"Then you would automatically lose the bet. Alright, have it your way, you can find out who your partner is before we bet. You'd better move your ass too, because you're next up."
"You might have opened with that," Seth said in annoyance as he got up from the table. Keeping any member of the McMahon family waiting was never a good idea. Even if Shane was the most relaxed of the bunch, it was still a relative thing.
"I hope you get Lana," Dean said as a parting shot.
"Only wrestlers were allowed to register," Seth countered, making Dean laugh loudly at the savage humour.
Quickly leaving catering to get to Shane's office, the first people Seth encountered in the hallway were Lana herself and her husband Rusev.
"You're in the Mixed Match Challenge," Lana said in a combative tone. "You won't win, because Rusev and I are in it."
Seth didn't dignify her by stopping walking. "You forgot your Russian accent again," he pointed out on his way by, smiling to himself.
Only a short distance along the hallway was the door bearing a plaque with Shane McMahon's name on it. Seth knocked confidently on it before opening it and walking in. He nearly had to do a double take at the sight that met him. Standing there talking to Shane was a blonde woman who was dressed like a modern day Scarlett O'Hara. She had a yellow hat on, with a black bow around it, with a classy black top and yellow skirt. The look was completed with black velvet gloves and a black hand fan, with which she was fanning herself as Seth entered the office. Upon seeing him walk in, a look appeared on her face that told him she didn't like what she saw. Even so, his first impression was that she was strikingly beautiful.
"Ah, Seth," Shane said pleasantly. "Allow me to introduce you to Lacey Evans. She's just signed for WWE, and she's going to be your partner in the Mixed Match Challenge."
"Well I say, Mr McMahon, I'm highly disappointed by your selection," Lacey said, turning her look of disgust in his direction. She spoke in an incredibly well spoken southern accent. Seth found it remarkable, and quite attractive, if he was honest. Her personality, on the other hand, didn't seem attractive in the least so far.
"Seth's a former Money in the Bank winner, and a former WWE Champion," Shane advised her.
"And the architect of The Shield," Seth added.
"Mr… Sorry, I didn't get your name," Lacey said, making it perfectly clear that the name was of no particular interest.
"Rollins," Seth clarified, trying not to snark back at her already, only a minute after meeting her.
"Mr Rollins, the only time I would need an architect is to design me a new home in South Carolina. What I expected to find in a tag team partner was someone classy; someone sophisticated; someone who knows how to dress. I mean, what are those things?" she asked, daintily pointing a finger at his pants.
"Sweat pants," Seth said, looking down at them.
"Sweat pants," Lacey repeated, as if the words tasted like dog crap in her mouth. "Mr Rollins, I wouldn't let someone into my home dressed like that."
"Then it's a good job I'm not coming to your home," Seth said. "What I'm doing, apparently, is wrestling with you." As he said it, he decided it might be easier to back out and try to get a title match some other way. He looked at Shane and added, "Unless I can back out. I'm not really feeling it."
"Not a chance," Shane said firmly. "You put your name down for this tournament, now you're in it. Like it or not, you will be a part of the first round, which starts next week. And this year there are Mixed Match challenge warm up matches at live events too, so you'll be teaming with Ms Evans from now on. And you know what that means."
Seth tried not to cringe too visibly. In WWE, teammates were expected to travel together. Usually that wasn't an issue because tag team partners liked each other. By the look of it, this situation was going to be different.
"Mr McMahon, I'm not sure if a lady like me should be travelling with a nasty like him," Lacey drawled, standing with a hand on her hip and the beginnings of a pout on her face.
"What did you call me?" Seth asked her, bristling a bit at the insult.
"I called you a nasty," Lacey said unrepentantly. "You're not the only one. The place is full of them, based on what I've seen so far."
"I'm just going to break it to you, you seem pretty nasty yourself," Seth snapped, having reached the end of his rope. To his surprise, he saw Ms Evans' expression soften a little, rather than becoming even more contemptuous.
"A man with a spine after all," Lacey drawled, seeming a little impressed for the first time. "Maybe I can work with you, Mr Rollins."
"Stop calling me Mr Rollins. The last person who did that was Mrs Martin, my kindergarten teacher. My name is Seth."
"Look, can the two of you take this argument or whatever it is elsewhere?" Shane said, now tiring of both of them.
"After you, my lady," Seth said, bowing courteously to Lacey. His sarcasm could not have been more obvious.
"That kind of behaviour doesn't become you," Lacey said, walking past him to the door.
Seth had to try not to laugh at the way she walked, teetering along on her high heels and fanning herself. Was this woman actually from the 1950s? Had someone discovered the secret of time travel? It seemed like the only explanation for what he was witnessing.
Following Lacey out of the office, Seth took a moment to compose himself. She was not the partner he would have chosen by any means, but she was a partner nonetheless. Who knew, against the odds, she might be a good wrestler. If she was, they might have a chance of winning the Mixed Match Challenge. For that to happen, they had to get past the bad introduction. The ice had to be broken between them.
"Ms Evans," he began, feeling compelled to address her formally. "I think maybe we got off on the wrong foot. We're going to be partners in the tournament, and we're going to have to travel together. We should try our best to make it work."
"I agree," Lacey said simply.
"Okay, great. So, uh, what made you sign for WWE? Wrestling seems like an odd career choice for a lady like yourself."
Lacey smiled, but Seth still didn't feel like she meant it. "Seth, I am a classy, sassy southern belle. I have come here to make women's wrestling better, and the best way to do that is by being Women's Champion. I can take care of any woman in a wrestling ring, so you do your part and I will do mine."
"Fair enough," Seth said, trying to be positive. "Since you're new here, how about I show you around?"
"That would be kind of you," Lacey said, convincing him that she was genuine for the first time.
"We can start with catering. This way." Seth set off in that direction, with Lacey gracefully walking along beside him, drawing curious glances from the backstage crew members they passed by.
"What is the food like here?" Lacey asked. "I do hope it's not the characterless, tasteless muck I've had to experience in other companies."
"No, the food is really good here," Seth said. "WWE hire the best catering companies out there."
"That's good. I would hate to have to lower my standards," Lacey said.
"Yes, I'm getting that vibe quite clearly," Seth said dryly.
They entered catering. As they did so, it occurred to Seth that Lacey was about to meet Dean. The mere idea of it almost made him laugh out loud. If she found a pair of sweat pants distasteful, she had seen nothing yet. "I want to introduce you to someone," he said, making a beeline for where Dean was lounging in his chair. As always, his hair was a mess, and even better he had gone and got another coffee while Seth had been away, and had managed to spill some of it on the table.
As they neared the table, Dean sensed someone approaching them and turned to look in their direction. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Lacey walking with Seth. It was no wonder, given her striking appearance.
"Dean, let me to introduce my Mixed Match Challenge partner, Lacey Evans," Seth said. "She's just signed for WWE. Lacey, this is Dean Ambrose, one of my brothers in The Shield."
Lacey looked horrified by the sight in front of her. "This man is your brother? He doesn't look like your brother."
"It's an expression," Seth informed her.
"What have you come as?" Dean asked Lacey. Seth couldn't stop himself laughing.
"I have 'come as' a classy lady, Mr Ambrose. I'm not surprised you don't understand," Lacey said, talking down to him in a manner that Seth imagined only she was capable of.
"Nah, I prefer a filthy lady," Dean said casually. If he had taken any offense to her comments, he didn't show it. "You any good at wrestling, or do you just prance around the place like something out of a bad world war movie?"
"You'll be surprised how well I can wrestle," Lacey said. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go and see if the coffee is acceptable."
Neither man said anything for a moment while Lacey walked away, casting a disapproving glance in the direction of Peyton Royce and Billie Kay as she walked by their table.
"Where the hell did you find her?" Dean asked Seth once the coast was clear.
"Dude, don't ask me. I walked into Shane's office and she was there. And he said that we're expected to travel together now that we're a team."
Dean roared with laughter. "He said that to me about Bliss, too. Well, good look with yours. I much prefer mine. Speaking of, is the bet on or not?"
Seth had forgotten all about the proposed bet regarding who could sleep with their partner first. As obnoxious and aloof as Lacey was, there was something about her manner that made him desire her. It probably helped that even with her weird dress sense, she was gorgeous. To hell with it, he decided, he would take the bet.
"Alright, you're on," he said, extending his hand.
"Easiest fifty I'm ever going to make," Dean said giving him a firm handshake. "Little Miss Bliss is going to love her some Deano, and there's no way that prissy thing you walked in here with is going to put out."
"We'll see about that," Seth said, doing his best to sound confident.
A/N: Thank you for checking out this first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.
Next time we're going to see Lacey and Seth travel together for the first time. Do you think they will get along any better, or will they continue to fail to see eye to eye?