A/N: After taking a small hiatus, I decided that writing was a need once again. I hope you all enjoy, happy reading and let me know what you think.

Chapter 1:

On The Mend

"Come on, Josie. Please, where are you going?" A voice shouted.

"Away! Away from you!" Another voice shouted in return.

Josette Rivera moved swiftly through the throb of working the long hallway. She was angry and about to explode with emotional torment. Her relationship with her long time boyfriend had quickly fallen apart when she realized that she wasn't the only woman in his life. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise; but maybe it wasn't.

She was confused and felt alone with the knowledge, not really knowing what to do with it or who she could tell about it. Being fairly new to the main roster, she really hadn't had time to make friends yet.

When she finally stopped walking, she turned back around, her long pastel blue hair flew into her hazel eyes. She could see security escorting her former boyfriend out of the building. He didn't work for the WWE, so he no longer had a place backstage. The look on his face drove a hypothetical knife right through her chest. Once he was completely out of sight, her chest heaved and the sobs erupted. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she crumpled down to sit on the edge of a equipment case.

"Josie, are you okay?" A warm feminine voice said. It was close enough for her to feel the warmth of her voice across her ear.

Josette looked up from the floor to see a familiar face. Charlotte Flair stood close to her with a look of concern written on her face. Her long blonde hair was pulled up into a tight ponytail high on the top of her head. The blue of her eyes held a comforting stare and it was something she was in desperate need of in that moment. "I just found out that boyfriend was cheating on me…" She answered finally, wondering if it really matter to Charlotte at all.

"Oh hunnie, I am so sorry. People are such assholes sometimes. I honestly don't why that behavior is necessary." Charlotte replied.

Watching Josette turn her head away in shame, Charlotte immediately sat down next to her and wrapped a comforting arm around her. It couldn't have been easy for her, with being relatively new to the main roster and no time to get to know people, to really connect with anyone. "I was naive to believe he cared about me for me and not because of who I became."

"People like that aren't worth your time. If they only care about materialistic things and not about the emotions of the person, then they are selfish and undeserving."

"Thank you….I...really needed to hear that."

Giving her shoulder a squeeze, Charlotte let go of her and stood up from the equipment case. Josette looked up at her and saw the smile that had formed. It was hard to push the heartbreak away; but she did so and returned the smile. This was not the way she had envisioned making a friend on the main roster; but it worked out all the same.

They walked back to the locker-rooms together and she was introduced properly to the rest of the women's roster and a few on the men's side as well. The heartbreak lingered and never fully went away, occasionally coming out at the worst times. That was the way hearts worked she supposed. They were fickle in that aspect. Little did she know that things were about to change…..

XxXxXxXxXx

Six Month Later…..

The sound of plastic wheels rolling across the concrete floor echoed throughout the parking garage. Laughter was the next thing heard bouncing off the stone walls. Josette and Charlotte walked together up to the entrance of the arena. The women's division was gathering more eyes than ever before. 2018 held so many firsts for them and she hoped that 2019 would be filled with the same kind of attention.

"How was the travel, ladies?" Hunter asked standing in their pathway.

Hunter and his wife, Stephanie McMahon, were the reason women got the attention they deserved. NXT was the focus point and that is where it all started. He treated the women like his own daughters and it made Josette feel better about how things progressed when it came to her character. "It wasn't bad." Charlotte answered with a smile.

"There is some script changes for tonight's show. They are in the locker-room, make sure you look at them." He said before walking away to address something else that needed attention.

There was always some kind of script change before the show started. The roster was always on edge with the thought of something changing at the last minute. Pushing the women's locker-room door open, Josette placed her bag on one of the benches before turning to find the script.

The bundle of papers were already in Charlotte's hands. She glanced it over before stopping, which meant it was about her or something that had to deal with her at least. Josette moved around her bag and peaked over at the papers. She could see a lot of red marks placed over black ink words. "What's going on?"

Without a single word spoken, Charlotte handed Josette the bundle of papers. She glanced it over. Her eye grew wide, not expecting to see what she was seeing. They were going to have a match, against each other at the start of the show. It was the company's way of promoting the first ever women's TLC match at the TLC PPV on December 16th.

Charlotte's character had taken a huge turn after Survivor Series, yet Josette remained on the good graces of the crowd. They were on opposite ends of the fans and now they were going to be on opposite sides of the ring.

"This could be good. We will have a fantastic match." Josette answered with a smile.

"I know...it's just different…"

Josette saw the indifference in her friend and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She knew that when she looked that way, there was no talking to her about it. It was best to just let her be and let things happen as they were meant to. Giving Charlotte's shoulder a squeeze, she let go and proceeded out of the locker-room in search of a bottle of water.

Being alone, it got her mind thinking. There were rumors circling all around about Vince McMahon making an appearance soon. She knew the ratings were dropping and it probably wasn't sitting well with the head boss of the company; but what changes was he going to make in attempts to get them back up?

Making her way into catering, there was a long line around the buffet like food system. She wasn't really hungry, so she moved around the others to get to the cooler with the water inside. Dipping her hand inside, she pulled a bottle of water out. Turning to leaving the room, her eyes met those of Finn Bálor.

The crystal blue captivated her for a moment before reality came crashing down around her. She became curious as to why he was there for a Smackdown show when he was a Raw star, then she remembered about Mixed Match Challenge.

"Josie!" Bayley shouted cheerfully from the other side of the room.

Finn's tag team partner quickly got across the room to her location with a bright smile upon her face. Bayley was one of the four horsewomen of NXT along with Sasha Bank, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. It made her stomach flutter with the nerves of butterflies. Josette had actually never met Bayley face to face. "It's so great to finally meet you. I've heard lots of great things from Charlotte."

"Great things huh? That sounds like Charlotte to exaggerate things a little bit. I'm nothing special, trust me."

"You don't give yourself enough credit…" A male voice, thick with an Irish accent interrupted the conversation.

Finn approached the two women with a smile on his face. It was a smile that was perfect, captivating the WWE Universe with his ring presence. It seemed to have captivated Josette as well. Their eyes met once more and the butterflies had settled for a brief moment started right back up again.

"You just need confidence in yourself and everything else will fall into place as they should." He said again.

"I guess I have that opportunity tonight…" She answered, running a nervous hand through her pastel blue locks.

Bayley smiled, realizing that she was referring to the match at the start of the show with her four horsewomen partner, Charlotte Flair. She had taken notice of Josette Rivera when she began in NXT. Though, she never won the championship; but, in her opinion, she was championship material and the WWE Universe knew it as well. "I look forward to watching it first hand." She commented.

"Thank you, I appreciate that." Josette replied, taking a sip of water from the bottle.

"We both will be watching." Finn said, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder.

Josette met his eyes, seeing the sincerity in his words first hand. He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before taking a step back to continue on with Bayley trailing behind. She was baffled by the whole conversation. It had been six months since she caught her boyfriend cheating on her with another woman. It never occurred to her that maybe she should try and move on with her life and let someone else in.

She left the room and returned to the women's locker-room to get ready for her match at the start of the show. Unzipping her bag, she pulled out her ring gear that was specially made for her last week by one of the head seamstresses of the company. Black vinyl material pants with open lattice sides. The same material was used for the top, which was a halter top that reached just below her sternum.

"It's almost time, Josie!" Charlotte announced from the open doorway.

The time had come for her to gain the confidence she needed to really put on a great match with her best friend. Butterflies returned to her stomach the second she started to walk towards the gorilla area. 'Recognition' started to play out into the arena and Charlotte moved to step through the curtain.

Josette always envied the entrance of the daughter of the legend, Ric Flair. The grace she held as she slowly turned in a beautiful robe that honored her father. Charlotte entered the ring her signature way. She signaled for a microphone, wishing to speak to the WWE Universe.

"On December 16th, I will face not one but two opponents in a match that makes history. Again." She said with authority and subtle cockiness that was becoming of the 'The Queen'.

The crowd was filled with a mixture of chants. Boos and cheers, everything in between. Out of the corner of Josette's eye she could see Bayley and Finn watching on a different monitor near the gorilla area. She forced her focus back on the show and Charlotte's promo. "Tonight, I will prove that I am the best in the business and at TLC, I will regain my Smackdown Women's Championship."

'The Phoenix' by Lindsey Stirling started to play out into the arena, bring the fans out of their seats. It was surreal everytime Josette stepped out onto the stage. She waited patiently behind the curtain, waiting for the right time to step through the curtain.

Her appearance brought louder cheers from the fans. A smile appeared on her face the second the cheers came into earshot. Charlotte remained calm, eyes never leaving her opponent. Unsnapping the vinyl jacket, she slid it off her shoulders and let it fall to the ground. "And her opponent...from Clearwater, Florida. Josette Rivera!" Greg Hamilton announced.

Backstage, Finn watched closely. He could see the hesitation in the way Josette moved. He really hoped that once the bell run, the confidence would take over. Bayley gave her tag team partner a tiny nudge with her elbow. "You seem focused on her...what's up?" She asked curiously.

"Something just seems off with her...it's like she fears failure. I've seen that look before far too many times over the years." He answered, tugging his jacket down a little bit.

"Just how long have you been watching her?"

"Since the beginning…."