A/N: Hello, everyone. I've had this plot planned out for a long time. I just wasn't sure who to use as the main love interest and the one to use at the OC's father. But, after some careful planning, I think I made the right decision. I hope everyone likes what I came up with. Lauren Conrad is the OC model for Natalie Michaels because I love her and she is someone I can see portraying Natalie Michaels in real life.
Disclamer: I do not own anything associated with WWE. Just the OC character Natalie Michaels and the idea of the story.
ENTITLED TO OVERCOME
Chapter One: Closer To Where I Started
Natalie Michaels was in the WWE performance center, training with the ring with her dad, WWE Hall Of Famer, and perhaps the greatest of all time, the legendary Shawn Michaels. She was practicing getting back in the ring after she injured her left knee at Wrestlemania during the Smackdown women's championship match. She went for a diving thesz press off the apron onto Natalya, trying to eliminate her from the equation when she landed on her left knee completely wrong.
She ended up in tears that night; not only because of the pain, but that was also supposed to be her big night where she finally captured a championship after being the WWE for five years. She told the referee that she thought she injured her knee, so the referee went and told all the other competitors in the match about Natalie's issue. The other women in the match were amazing to come up with an alternative finish to the match after Vince McMahon told the referee through his ear piece that Naomi was going to become the new Smackdown women's champion. She remembered crying in the arms of her father, Uncle Taker, Uncle Hunter and her best friends, Alexa Bliss and Carmella.
"Dad, when are we going to quit with the basic manuevers?" Natalie questioned. She was ready to get back into the high-flying arsenal she was associated with. She knew her dad would probably be hesitant, but she wanted nothing more than to fly again. "I think I could do kicks and punches with my eyes closed. I've only been doing this a million times since I stepped back into the performance center. I want to fly again."
Shawn just looked at his daughter. He didn't really like to tell her no, but he was unsure about her high-flying again after her sustaining a knee injury after flying off the apron at Wrestlemania. "Sweetie, I know you're ready to get back to flying around the ring, but I honestly think it's in your best interest if you try another technique besides high-flying." The look on his daughter's face broke his heart in two.
The daughter of the Hall of Famer had a saddened look on her face. "C'mon on dad. You broke your back for pete's sake." Natalie was going to argue with her dad over this situation. She would not give up until she could fly again. "When you came back you still did stuff that could hurt your back and you never re-injured it. Remember how hard the other wrestlers would Irish Whip you into the turnbuckle?"
The Heartbreak kid sighed. He knew his daughter was the most persistent human he'd ever known, so she wouldn't be going down without a fight. "Nat, I just think it would be better for you if you toned it down on the high-flying and try a more technical style in the ring."
"You must be afraid that I'm going to get injured again," Natalie stated. "Do you not have enough faith in me?" There was disbelief in her tone. She was getting frustrated with her dad. She didn't know why he was so hesitant on her flying.
"Of course I have faith in you!" Shawn was baffled that his daughter would ask him that question. He kicked the bottom rope that was closest to him to let out some frustration. "I'm just afraid that you'll get injured again if you keep up the high-flying tactics. It's nothing against you Natalie, it's just I'm your father and I'm going to worry. I know how dangerous it can be anytime you step into a WWE ring."
Natalie took a seat in the ring and laid her head back against the bottom turnbuckle. She knew she couldn't argue with her father over that answer. "Fine..." Natalie lifted her head up to look at her father. "How about I start developing a more technical style but I still have the occasional high-flying move?"
Shawn nodded his head in agreement. "That works." He went over to his daughter and extended a hand to her, which she accepted. "Thanks for compromising with me."
"You're welcome." She shot a smile to her father. "You're going to have to train extra hard with me. Because it's going to be challenging for me to have a more slow based style."
"We better get back started again then." The father and daughter went back into the middle of the ring so Natalie could get started on her training again. She would be returning nine days after the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, so she needed to train hard to she wouldn't have ring rust. However, she would be making a trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan which would be the fallout Smackdown show from Hell In A Cell to see one of her best friends, Carmella. Hopefully, she would also being seeing her crush.
The Princess of Staten Island squealed as she saw her best friend walk into the building. Natalie was rocking a denim shirt that was tucked into a white flowing skirt and tan stilettos. Her blonde hair was straight with her bangs pinned back to the side. Red lipstick and nude eyes were complimenting her outfit very well. Natalie held her arms out waiting for Carmella to jump into them. Natalie laughed when Carmella did just that.
Carmella let herself out of Natalie's arms and gave her a once over. "Damn, babe, you are looking fresh." The current Ms. Money In The Bank was being serious, her best friend looked better than ever. It looked like spending time down in Florida did her some good. She was looking tanner than ever which brought out the best in her glowy features.
"Thanks, Mella." Natalie blushed. Her best friend was very peculiar about how someone looked, so she was flattered about Carmella's compliment. "I actually feel much better too. I feel completely refreshed."
Carmella linked her arm with Natalie's as the two ladies started walking down the hallway. "That's excellent. You worked to death last year and earlier this year. I didn't think you knew what a break was." The two ladies stopped in catering, grabbing some food before Smackdowon began.
Natalie grabbed a salad with french dressing and Carmella grabbed a chicken salad sandwich. Both of the ladies grabbed a bottle of water before sitting down at the table near the gorilla. "So, someone special asked about you at Hell In A Cell," Carmella stated, taking a bite out of her sandwich.
Natalie blushed, her eyes widening. "Why didn't you tell me whenever I was on the phone with you earlier?" Natalie hit her best friend in the arm, of course in a joking way. "This is important news."
Carmella laughed. "Because I wanted to see the look on your face whenever I told you." She once again laughed as her best friend was giving her evil eyes while drinking some of her water.
"You're so cruel." The daughter of Shawn Michaels gave a pouty lip. "I thought I was your best friend."
"You are my best friend," Carmella assured. "But, you know I like teasing you." She took a another bite of her sandwich. "Anyways, don't you want to know what he asked me about you?"
Natalie rolled her eyes. "Of course I do."
"He asked me when you were coming back because it wasn't the same without you around." Carmella smiled when she saw Natalie's eyes light up. "He also told me he was ready for his favorite Natalie to come back. It seems to me that the feelings between you two are mutual."
Natalie frowned. "But, I am the only Natalie that he knows." She finished her salad and proceeded to throw it away. She went back to the table and sat back down. "So, that doesn't really mean anything."
"Girl!" Carmella exclaimed. "Will you just quit overthinking and accept the fact that he misses you?" She grabbed her items and threw them in the garbage. She waved for Natalie to come on so she could get ready for the show. Natalie grabbed her water bottle and followed suit.
She watched from the sidelines as she watched him give an interview. He was more determined than she remembered being in recent memory. That was one of her favorite traits about him. He definitely lived up to the hype of his nickname. She was feeling her hands get clammy when he finished his interview and was heading towards her.
He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight. He let her go and gave her a smile. "What are you doing here Natalie? I thought you weren't supposed to return tonight?" He looked at her up and down which made her blush.
"I thought I'd come by and visit. I've really missed this place," She stated. "Plus, it was nice to take a break away from my dad. He's been making me train super hard ever since my injury." That caused him to chuckle, which made her smile because his laughter was infectious to her.
"I can imagine. I bet that's one thing that's hard about being the daughter of the Heartbreak kid." He wrapped his arm around her as they walked down the hallway towards his locker room so he could get some last minute stuff ready before he headed to the gorilla. His match was in the main event, which was after the Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler segment. "But, I can tell that's where your persistence comes from."
He opened his locker room door, letting her walk in first. She took a seat on the couch as she watched him get some last minute stuff together. "I get that a lot," she chuckled. 'I was actually being persistent with my dad yesterday while I was training because he wanted me to change my style. I refused at first, but then he explained to me why and I compromised with him."
He grabbed his vest, letting it rest on his lap as he sat on the arm on the chair in his locker room. "You know, change is always good. But, it's going to be different not seeing you fly all over the ring." He put on his vest and proceeded to head to the gorilla to get ready for his match, since it was coming up. Once again, he let her go first when he opened the locker room door. "I will miss all the camera angles on you." Natalie's faced turned a dark shade of red. Thank goodness he was still behind her.
They got to the gorilla. "Well, good luck out there. Live up to the hype of your name." He winked at her as he went out in front of the thousands of people in attendance, hoping to regain the championship he lost at Hell In A Cell. Another blush came onto her beautiful face. That was something frequent that happened when she was in his presence.
Carmella walked up to Natalie, changed into her street clothes for the night. "You went completely AWOL whenever I finished with my match with Becky, but now I can see why."
"So, have you told your dad about your crush?" Carmella asked. Carmella knew that Shawn didn't like the idea of his daughter dating a wrestler considering his history with a particular woman during his run in the mid nineteen nineties.
Natalie scoffed. "Mella, I am not trying to give the man a heart attack. Especially during the time he's helping me train to get back inside the ring." She had wanted to tell her dad about her crush on a certain superstar, but she just couldn't bare herself to do so. She highly doubted that her crush wanted to date her, so there was no point in saying anything at this point.
"Don't you think it would be a good idea, especially if you two were to date in the future?" Carmella asked. Natalie stopped at a red light and looked over to Carmella, giving her a flabbergasted look.
"It's not like AJ and I are ever going to date," Natalie exclaimed. "I'm sure he doesn't even like me like that. He's always hanging out with Charlotte and Becky's posse." Now, she had nothing against Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, as a matter of fact it was the opposite. She considered Charlotte one of her favorite opponents and Becky was one of the most down to earth people to be around. It was that she felt somewhat threatened by both of them, especially Charlotte since Charlotte was best friends with her crush. She started driving down the highway again.
Carmella frowned. She never knew that her best friend felt that way. "Natalie, you know that him and Charlotte are just pals right? I've seen the way he looks at you and I've seen the way he looks at her. It's two totally different ways. He looks at her like a proud friend and he looks at you as if you are the only one in the room."
Natalie sighed. "Yeah, right. I'm sure you're just saying that to flatter me."
"Nat, you know how I am," Carmella stated. "You know that I would never lie to you. I am always honest with you."
"You're right, Mella." Natalie pulled into the hotel they were staying at and stopped the car. It felt so nice to be rooming with her best friend again. All they were missing was Alexa. They dubbed themselves the 'three musketeers' because Natalie, Carmella, and Alexa were always inseparable. But, Carmella was her ultimate BFF. It was akin to Charlotte and Becky, Lita and Trish, Beth and Natalya, Edge and Christian, Sasha and Bayley, Finn and Karl, Sami and Kevin, and Alexa and Nia. Even though Alexa was her other best friend, she knew Nia was Alexa's ultimate BFF. She was happy that Alexa was back on RAW with Nia even though she would miss her terribly on Smackdown.
"You know it's not going to be the same without Alexa with us," Carmella said. She looked to Natalie who just snapped out of her thoughts. She wondered if Carmella read her mind sometimes. "But, it'll be fun with just the two of us because we can have the ultimate best friend time. It sucked when I left Bayley in NXT because she was my ultimate best friend at the time and she still is one of my best friends, but it was an honor to come to Smackdown with you because you are my true friend soulmate and it was harder on me whenever you got injured."
Natalie began to tear up. That was one of the most touching things she'd ever heard. "That was really sweet, Mella." She gave Carmella a hug. "I missed you too whenever I was out with the injury. It sucked that I was assigned to Total Divas as well for this season, but had to drop out the show because of my injury. I didn't want my storyline to be based around that. I would've loved to join all of you ladies."
They both got out of the car and proceeded to grab their belongings out of the trunk. Natalie, not realizing she left her purse where she did, tripped over it. She was afraid she was going to fall, but she felt someone with broad arms catch her. "Woah, there." She heard an southern accent say. She blushed when she realized who it was.
She looked up into the eyes of her crush. "Thanks. You saved me from possibly another injury." Natalie stated. Behind her was Carmella, who was looking on with intrigue.
"No problem." He waved off the issue. "Anytime I see a beautiful woman is in trouble, I do my best to help her." Yet again, Natalie's face turned redder than a tomato.
"Sorry about your loss tonight," Natalie apologized. "But, you did excellent an job with the short time that you had. You lived to the hype of your nickname once again." Was she flirting? She had more nerve than she thought. She was positive Carmella was having a field day with this interaction.
"Thanks, I try my best." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and waved at her and Carmella before walking away. Natalie watched him walk away, her hand pressed against the cheek he just kissed. She thought she would need a wet floor sign just then because she thought she wet her panties whenever he kissed her cheek.
"He's never done anything like that to Charlotte Flair," Carmella mused. Her best friend turned around to look at her, shocked all over her face. "I told you, he's totally into you." She was getting stuff out of the trunk of the car. "Now, come on, we need to get our stuff out of the car. Especially since we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
But, Natalie couldn't move. She just stood there. She knew her dad wouldn't be happy, but she figured it was about time she told him about her crush on one...AJ Styles.
A/N: What did you all think about this? Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following. All of you are awesome!