Author's Note: Yeah, own nothing. Making no profit. Using kayfabe entirely. Hope you enjoy my odd taste in pairings. Be grateful it's not the Ted Dibiase/AJ Lee story I was thinking of... That'll probably happen, anyway.

Running Roughshod
First Impressions

First Meeting

If Brie Bella were to be honest with herself (and truth be told, the only people in the world Brie was always honest with were herself and Nikki), she'd admit that she'd noticed him before. Well, maybe noticed wasn't the proper word for it. When you were in the back, you noticed Randy Orton. You noticed John Cena. You noticed CM Punk, and Christian, and even Sheamus. They were men with larger than life personalities. Men that turned heads, demanded respect, and got crowds going whenever they stepped into the ring.

One didn't necessarily notice Evan Bourne. You'd maybe catch him out of the corner of your eye, something in the back of your mind would click that you possibly had seen him some place else, and then you'd just as quickly dismiss his existence.

At least, that's how it was for Brie. So, on the day her carry on suitcase's left wheel broke as she was trying to meet up with Nikki after a show, Brie didn't think she could be blamed for not recognizing the rather forgettable wrestler when he walked up beside her.

He didn't even look at her when he did it, from what she recalled. Just picked up the suitcase she had been struggling with a moment earlier, pleasantly said, "I've got this," and walked with her to the back of the building. All with a serene smile plastered on his face.

She'd tried getting her suitcase back, really. Most of the men in the locker room treated her and Nikki in one of two ways; they either couldn't stand their attitudes -because, as Nikki once said, heaven forbid any of the women be cocky- or circled around them hoping they were easy.

The Bella twins did not choose, "You Can Look, But You Can't Touch" as their theme song for irony's sake.

"I can carry that," she'd snapped, hoping that her tone and deep frown would give him a hint that she really wasn't interested. Go away, hoser.

"Yeah, I know," he'd shrugged, the dopey smile never leaving his boy next door face. "But, I can carry it easier. And it's no problem."

"Really," Brie had grabbed for the handle, "I've got it."

He'd simply pulled it out of her reach with a laugh. "Just let me do it. Hasn't anyone ever done something nice for you just to be nice before?"

It'd been a rhetorical question. Brie hadn't taken it that way. "No."

That answer had caused Evan to freeze for a moment, his smile vanished. "Well, that's a shame."

She hadn't known what angered her more; his words, or the fact that his tone somehow managed to sound sincere.

Brie'd turned to him to snap out something bitter, but they were already outside, Nikki in their car, blaring the horn at her. Witty retort dead on her tongue, Brie had simply clawed her luggage away, and stormed off to meet her sister.

She'd expected him to be offended by the lack of thanks. It would take a week for her to learn that Evan was good at the unexpected.

Oops!

Brie was pretty sure she had better things to do with her sister, than listen to a raging Jack Swagger as they waited for the commercial break to end, and their entrance music to cue up. She didn't really know what had happened in the match before, but she was fairly certain it had ended poorly for Swagger, and it most likely involved Evan Bourne. Neither she nor Nikki really cared what a couple of scrubs not worth their times were feuding over, but even Brie had to admit there was something endlessly amusing about seeing a man Swagger's size storm about like a child having a hissy fit.

It was getting to be a habit the past couple of weeks. Swagger or Bourne would have a match, something would happen that would somehow involve the other man, Bourne would leave or stay in the ring triumphant, and Swagger would have a tantrum. Bets were already going to see how long it would take for Swagger to really snap and cause Bourne some damage. As quick and apparently clever as the high flyer was, he was still only 5'10" to Swagger's 6'7". If the former champion got his hands on him with the idea in mind of just having a street fight, it was pretty apparent that Bourne wouldn't have much of a chance.

Even after their divas match was over, Swagger was still stalking the back hallways, clearly looking for the young man that had steadily become a thorn in his side. Brie just rolled her eyes at it all. Men in the business were so quick to fly off the handle sometimes.

She didn't really know how she'd managed to spot him. She and Nikki were heading into the women's locker room to change, when she caught something familiar from the corner of her eye. Or someone.

Slowly, Brie turned her head to a bunch of sound equipment by the wall. Wedged between the wall and electronics, Evan sat rather comfortably on the floor, his thumbs tapping away on his cell phone. Maybe feeling eyes on him he looked up, spotted her, and waved with a bright smile. Brie frowned in return. Was he hiding, or was that just his strange way of relaxing? Brie didn't really understand men like him, who always seemed so easy going and nice. In her experience, it was all a lie. No one was that good-hearted, especially not a man. They all had ulterior motives, and it was just a matter of time before his real personality came out. She had half a mind to point him out, just because his very presence irritated her. But then Swagger yelled something rather violent from down the hall, and Bourne raised his eyebrows practically to his hairline, lips in a tight lined smile, expression screaming, Wow, I really pissed him off, huh?

Despite herself, Brie laughed. Then covered her mouth and glared, when Evan grinned at her response. She put her hand down, and hoped she looked effectively annoyed at him. From his lopsided smile, she doubted it. So, Brie opted to roll her eyes for the second time that day, before walking through the locker room door.

My Name Is...

Bella Bootcamp was much more fun when there was more than one Bella involved. Of course, this couldn't happen when Nikki was sick in bed with food poisoning (otherwise known for its more popular but less dignified title, a hangover). Still, Brie didn't so much mind the early morning run by herself, especially since the weather had gotten nicer.

Out of all their training, Brie actually enjoyed jogging the most. On a treadmill in a gym, she could blast her iPod and tune out every annoying person in the room. Which, if fellow superstars and divas were present, were quite a few. And if the weather permitted an outside run, Brie would completely lose track of time watching the scenery pass by. The upside to traveling all the time meant that she never got bored of her current locale.

She would've preferred to jog outside this day, since the sun was shining along with a cool breeze, but Bellas stuck together. So, if one twin was stuck in the hotel, the other was, too. Brie opted to use the hotel gym, which wasn't so bad even with its slightly outdated equipment, since most of the occupants were coworkers that she ignored on a daily basis anyway (Santino, who?). Her cellphone rested precariously on the panel of the treadmill she was using, just in case Nikki called in need of something.

Ear plugs securely on, and music ramped as high as it could go without causing permanent damage, Brie blocked out everyone, focusing on what her week would entail. Photoshoots, at least one meet and greet, not to mention what seemed like the hundredth match between her and Kelly Kelly. Quite frankly, she was sick of facing off against the bubbly blonde. There was just so much sugary happiness radiating off of a human being one could take without wanting to punch them in the face, even if they weren't in the ring at the time. Hmmm, punching Kelly in the face? Brie mulled over the thought. She hadn't done that before, and for the life of her, couldn't think of why. Clearly, this was something that needed to be rectified come RAW. She bet that wasn't something the little princess would be expecting.

With the thought of whacking the taste out of Kelly Kelly's mouth as motivation, Brie cranked the treadmill to a higher speed. However, the new velocity made the older machine shake a bit, jostling her cellphone off its perch. Brie clumsily reached for it, but couldn't maneuver herself very well on the still moving belt to get to it in time, and watched with dread as her phone plummeted to what looked like an early death.

Except it never met its untimely fate. Instead, it was snatched out of the air mere inches away from the ground, its savior holding it out to Brie with a friendly grin on his face. Most of the women on the Divas roster would've been grateful and gushed accordingly, no doubt. Brie wasn't most women. And Evan Bourne's smile still pissed her off.

She took back her phone without returning his overly enthusiastic smile. "Thanks," she muttered, cold as the Arctic.

Per usual, Evan either didn't seem to care, or didn't seem to notice. "No problem. You should be more careful, though. It could've broke."

Brie gave him a flat look, deciding that he wasn't even worth a response. Again, he didn't seem to be bothered by her attitude. He leaned his arms on the treadmill's panel, head tilted. Brie equated it to a curious kitten. She idly wondered for a moment how many girls were dumb enough to fall for it, then just as quickly decided she didn't care. Instead, she glared harder.

This did nothing to dampen Evan's cheerfulness. "Say, think you'll be done with the treadmill soon? The other one here's kinda broke."

Brie's frown didn't let up. "You can always run outside."

"I could," he shrugged. "But it's really hot out."

He pouted. A kicked kitten, Brie thought.

"And I should care, why?" she asked.

"Heatstroke is bad," he quickly answered with such a serious face, that Brie actually found herself taken aback. Then, she felt rather embarrassed when he grinned impishly. "Come on," he laughed. "You can't be on that thing forever."

"I'll tell you what," she leaned in, brows drawn down. "I'll get off if you tell me which Bella I am."

It was a trick, and everyone who overheard the conversation knew it. There was, naturally, a fifty/fifty chance of getting the right answer. However, since it was a Bella twin, she would never, ever admit that the person guessed correctly. And it was impossible to call them on their bluff, outside of tackling them and looking for Brie's telltale tattoo. It was a game that both Nikki and Brie had played on people multiple times, and everyone on the roster knew that whenever they pulled it, the outcome was always the same.

Evan didn't seem deterred in the least. He narrowed his eyes, and scratched his chin in an exaggerated look of deep thought. It was all Brie could do not to sigh irritated in his face. He was really just too ridiculous. Finally he straightened up, looking rather pleased with himself. She couldn't imagine why.

"Well, you're the prettier of the two," he said, once again leaning on the treadmill. "So, you've gotta be Brie. Right?"

Her mouth fell open, dumbstruck. In Brie's defense, her expression was one that was mirrored by just about everyone in the room. Those who weren't in shock had looks of near admiration on their faces. It was such a childishly simple way to answer the riddle, that Brie realized she shouldn't be surprised that a guy like Evan would come up with it. But it was also infuriatingly effective. Did she admit that he was right, or take a shot to her ego just to win? She could feel all eyes on her, and she never wanted to smack a smile off a man's mouth so much before in her life.

She huffed, and stormed off the treadmill. "Whatever."

So Close

Brie Bella didn't give much credit to the intelligence of people in large groups. Especially when those people happened to be WWE fans. Or more specifically, WWE fans who owned cell phones. They were the reason she had been thrown into yet another match with Kelly Kelly. Only this time for her Divas championship. And it was because of them they she didn't have it anymore.

Seriously, the fans couldn't have chosen Eve or Beth? Sure, Beth could probably bench press Brie on her worst day half asleep, but Brie was pretty certain that she was much smarter than the resident Glamazon, and Twin Magic would've been an easy way to get around the other woman's abnormal strength. As for Eve... Well, she was Eve. If Brie could beat her once, she could beat her twice.

In the end, Brie had had the match won, anyway. She had Kelly in a perfect pin. Well, almost perfect. Who knew she'd actually be able to roll into a counter pin? One little slip in balance, and that was the end of that. It didn't seem right. Besides, Kelly Kelly had the devil's luck on her side. Brie didn't think the girl was capable of stringing two sentences together without getting confused, and here she was getting title shot after title shot. It was unnatural. Who in the back booked these matches, anyway? Lawler?

It didn't help matters that Nikki had blamed the loss on Brie, instead of Kelly. In the back of her head, Brie knew that it was more out of frustration than real anger, but it still wasn't something she wanted to deal with. Twins were supposed to support each other, not point the finger. The two women had bickered back and forth at each other all the way to the back, until Brie had snapped that she wanted to be by herself, which Nikki had replied to bitterly how more than happy she was to comply.

Brie had done her best to ignore everything else that was going on around her, quite content in her sulking and self pity. She didn't even notice someone else take up residency on the equipment box she was sitting on, until her ears picked up a small groan to her right. Her head whipped to the side, surprised and annoyed that she'd been unaware of the person's presence. Her annoyance worsened when she recognized Evan Bourne, rubbing his back and wincing.

"Do you really have to sit here?" she bit.

Like clockwork, he ignored her rudeness. "Closest place to sit down," he answered, hands still kneading his hunched over back.

"Well," Brie raised an eyebrow, unable to hold back, "you look like Hell."

"Figures," he grimaced. "I'm assuming that's where Mason Ryan was attempting to slam me at the end there."

For once, the look of pity on her face was unfeigned. "They voted for Mason Ryan? His left leg weighs more than you do!"

"I wouldn't go that far," Evan muttered. "But it wasn't exactly the match I was expecting. Or wanting."

That made Brie think about her own match, which in turn brought back her indignation. "Yes, well, at least you didn't just lose your title belt to a no talent ditz!"

"No, I didn't. After all, I've never been given a shot at a belt here."

His tone took her aback. Usually, Evan sounded sweet and happy. In his worst mood she'd ever seen him in, he'd been mildly annoyed. But the way he'd said those words just then was unlike any way Brie had heard him speak before. He sounded angry, and bitter. And very much not like Evan.

Brie found she didn't like it, at all.

They fell into a moment of uncomfortable silence, with Evan still trying to get the kinks out of his back and shoulders, and Brie at an unusual loss for words.

Finally, when she just couldn't take it anymore, Brie declared, "Losing sucks!"

Evan looked at her, and laughed despite himself, a hint of his normal smile on his face. "Yeah. Yeah, it does."

She nodded, folding her hands in her lap, and watched people on the roster go by.

Brie really didn't know what possessed her to do what she did then, but she blamed it later on depression, and the old adage of misery loving company. With a sigh, she tilted herself to the side, resting her head on Evan's shoulder. He stiffened for a moment, then relaxed and placed his own head on top of hers. They stayed like that, a united front of sore losers, until Nikki had come looking for Brie to apologize. The former Divas champ had jumped away so quickly from Evan when she heard her sister coming, he'd nearly fallen over. She didn't apologize for it. He didn't care.

Questions

The Bella twins had gotten a rather infamous reputation for being two of the biggest bar flies in the WWE. A rep that neither woman thought was very truthful. They didn't really go out that often. It was just when they did, they went full tilt. If you were going out partying, what was the sense of not having a good time? And it really wasn't Brie or Nikki's fault that they could somehow drink most of the male roster under the table. It wasn't like they were hooking up with strange men every time they went out. Or ever, to be more specific. The Bellas were far too picky to do something so crass. Not that the women's locker room seemed to worry about facts when it came to some of it's roster.

But neither Brie or Nikki particularly cared about what anyone else thought of them. They were going to have fun when they could, and if some of the other Divas wanted to be boring, judgmental stick in the muds, they could do it. The Bellas had better things to do than fret over misconceptions and false rumors.

They were passing through New York for shows during the week, and there was no way the Bella twins weren't going to go out. New York City had some of the best bars. With Nikki somewhere on the dance floor, Brie was nursing the last of her apple martini over at their table, contemplating on ordering another. Her lip twitched a little when a familiar figure sat next to her.

"Am I allowed to order you a drink?" Evan asked. Brie noted his own hands were empty of any glass.

"I don't know," she replied, sarcasm thick. "Are you even old enough to?"

He flashed his perfect, boyish smile. "What do you want?"

"Ah, what a loaded question," Brie murmured, running her finger along the edge of her martini glass. "But, I suppose you meant what I would like to drink?"

"Well, yes," he tilted his head, grin fading just a bit. "Unless you'd like to answer it a different way."

She raised her brows. "That's a dangerous game you're playing there, Mr. Bourne."

His smile came back, full force. "Oh. I was beginning to wonder if you knew my name."

"Of course, I do," she scoffed. "You're the scrub Nikki cheered for at Capitol Punishment."

Not surprisingly, his smile didn't diminish. "Is the person who won the match really the scrub?"

"When it comes to you?" she sipped the last of her drink, then frowned at the empty glass. "Yes."

"Glad I'm special." He took the glass from her hands. "Another?"

Brie eyed him, curious and challenging. "... I want a Jolly Rancher."

He got up, and took only a few steps before turning back. "Not gonna follow me?"

"For what reason?" she asked. "You're not going to spike my drink. You're too much of a boy scout."

Evan shrugged and grinned, completely unapologetic over the accusation. Brie watched him go with a cocked brow, not quite sure why she felt like humoring him. Must've been because of the alcohol. It certainly wasn't because maybe, just maybe, she was getting used to his constant presence in her life, wanted or not.

When he came back and handed Brie her drink, she took it without thanks. For what seemed like the millionth time, Evan didn't seem to notice or care about the lack of manners. She was beginning to wonder what that was all about.

"You're not going to soften me up by getting me drunk, you know?" she murmured, taking a sip of the dark green liquor.

He laughed. "I'd probably get drunk before you anyway, right?"

"Not without ever buying a drink, you won't," she snorted.

"I'm not much of a drinker," he shrugged. "Suggestions?"

"Do you dare ask me, and potentially have me order you the most froufrou drink I can think of?" she challenged.

Evan eyed her then, and she couldn't miss the amusement on his face. "Bring it, oh mighty former champion."

"Oh," she put her glass down, standing up, "you're in for it now."

She walked purposefully over to the bar, ignoring the large grin that had flashed on Evan as she left. This was silly, she realized. He'd just gotten up to get her a drink just a few moments ago. He could've bought himself one. Besides, what was she doing, rising to his bait so easily? She knew better than that. And it wasn't like she was starting to enjoy his company. Certainly not! Perfect, clean cut, boys next door absolutely bored her to tears. And that made Evan the epitome of boring.

Still, she found herself ordering his drink, and paying for it without the irritation that she thought she should have.

When she walked back to him, she placed the glass on the table, eyes gleaming. "A Long Island Iced Tea, Mr. Bourne?"

His perpetual grin faded. "That's not a 'froufrou' drink."

Brie smirked. "Can't handle it?"

He chuckled under his breath. It was an unexpected reaction, and Brie was both surprised at it, and the fact that it actually sounded pleasant to her ears. He brought the drink closer to him, and took a swig. "I can handle it fine," he said.

She sat back down. "We'll see."

Two hours later, their collective drink list had gone on to include a second Long Island Iced Tea, this time for Brie, two watermelon margaritas, one for each of them, and finally a Jack and Coke, and a Piece of Ass Cocktail for Evan. Evan had tried very hard to refuse the last one, but Brie had proven to be not only insistent but convincing in her pleas. Something about it being an aptly named drink for him. They were both quite sure that it was all the alcohol talking at the end there, but neither of them seemed to mind it much. By the time Nikki had come to retrieve Brie, and Yoshi Tatsu Evan, the high flier was regaling Brie with stories from his time in Ring of Honor. While she, arms draped around him and flushed face resting on his shoulder, told Evan tales of how difficult it was for her and Nikki to be more interested in football and soccer than boys all during school.

Nikki and Yoshi couldn't figure out what was more absurd; Evan and Brie's level of drunkenness, or just who the two parties involved were.