Prologue

*BRYN-LEIGH'S POV*

I was in the midst of helping one of my coworkers set food out on the tables surrounding the perimeter of the room we were using as the catering room, or cafeteria, for the evening. I had my back to the door as I worked diligently. My laborious movements were halted when my vision was obscured by a pair of large hands covering my eyes. I didn't need to see their owner to know whose hands they were; the scent of his cologne gave him away.

Over my first seven months with the company I'd become close with a few of the guys on the roster, but none were closer with me than Jonathan Good, otherwise known to fans as Dean Ambrose. I'd never had a best guy friend before Jon; tons of best friends of the female verity, but no guys. Be that as it may, Jon had been the first person I was introduced to on my first day with the company, and at his own insistence, too. He had also made it a point almost every day thereafter to make sure I knew he was there to be a friend, not just another coworker or acquaintance. He even knew some of my darkest secrets; secrets not even my best girlfriend knew. Of course, that was probably because he could never just let well enough alone and pushed me until I finally cracked, but that was beside the point.

"Well, I guess you'll have to explain to all your coworkers why they didn't have any food to eat before the show tonight. I'm sure they'll be welcoming you back with wide open arms after that conversation," I nonchalantly joked. The hands were quickly removed from my eyes as Jon spun me around to face him.

"As if I care what anyone else wants or thinks," Jon responded, quite seriously, but I knew him well enough by now to know he was only kidding. I chuckled. "Is that why your hands moved away from my eyes so quickly, I mocked. He shook his head.

"No, they moved because you knew it was me, so that sucked the fun out of it." I laughed.

"Wear a different cologne next time," I said, giving him a hint as to what gave him away. "But seriously, welcome back," I officially greeted. "Did you have fun filming the movie," I questioned. He nodded.

"Yeah, it was a nice change of pace for a little while. Vancouver was very accommodating while I was there, but I am very glad to be back," he confessed. I had turned to go back to placing food out on the tables while I listened to him. "I can't wait to get back into the ring and continue my feud with Colby," he proclaimed.

"Oh yeah, that should be one crazy battle," I joked before my tone turned serious. "On a more serious note, have you heard from, or gone to see, Joe yet," I asked. I had heard he was rushed to the hospital yesterday morning and he had to have emergency surgery for a hernia, but hadn't heard anything more than that and I had been too busy with work to go to the hospital to see him. Jon shook his head.

"No, but I did talk to Galina a little while ago. I called his phone and she answered because he was sleeping. She said he's doing better, and the surgery was a complete success, but doctors say he'll be out for at least three months," Jon informed me. I nodded.

"Well, that's good and bad, but he'll be back in no time. In the meantime, what are your plans? Who are you gonna travel with," I asked, knowing Jon and Joe traveled together quite often ever since their days together in The Shield. Jon shrugged.

"I have no idea," Jon said. Little did I know at the time he was lying to me. "As far as my plans in the ring go, I plan to use the opportunity the best I can," Jon responded. "I mean on the one hand, I absolutely hate that he got injured because I know he has a ton of potential and the powers-that-be want him to be the next top start. However, on the other hand; the more selfish hand, if you will, I realize this is an opportunity that doesn't come around very often, and I have a chance to prove to the big bosses just what I'm capable of, and just like with every other opportunity I've ever had placed in front of me, I plan to run with it as long as I possibly can."

I smiled. If there was one thing I, without a doubt, loved about Jon, it was his determination and drive to get where he wanted to go as quickly as was possible. "That should be interesting to watch. I'm sure you and Colby will do very well in Joe and Bryan's absence," I said, referring to the fact Bryan Danielson - known better as Daniel Bryan - was also still out with a neck injury, and therefore there were currently two 'main event' spots left wide open for guys like Jon and Colby to prove their worth. It was going to be a fun couple of months.

*JON'S POV*

"Yes, we will," I confidently responded. It was almost a subconscious answer because I was too busy watching her continue to put more refreshments on the tables. What I had made sure to purposely keep quiet about when telling her how excited I was to be back was the fact she was the real reason for my excitement. I hadn't lied at all when I said the movie had been fun to film; it was fun, and it was a totally different experience, which is always fun because doing the same thing three hundred and sixty five days a year, twenty four hours a day did eventually get old. So having something different to do for a month was refreshing, and being in Vancouver for the entire month, and not moving city-to-city aimlessly almost every night was also a nice temporary change, as was meeting new people and gaining a few new friends, as well as getting a break from being punched in the face. Stunt doubles were an awesome thing when you wanted a break. However, at the same time, I do love what I do. I would never do what others had done and leave wrestling for Hollywood fulltime; that just isn't my style.

Besides, if I did that, I wouldn't get to see Bryn-Leigh nearly every day like I do now. Being back was great because I felt like this was where I truly belonged for more than one reason. For once, wrestling wasn't the sole reason for my excitement. It was true, I loved wrestling. Everyone knew that; I had since I was a child, and I had missed it while I was away, but for once I actually missed something more than I missed wrestling; I had missed her! I loved that being back meant I got to see Bryn-Leigh almost every day. If there was one thing I had missed while I was away, it was being able to see her. Talking to her on the phone and texting was nice, but it definitely wasn't the same as seeing her nearly every day.

It had dawned on me after one week just how much I missed her. I had never felt like this for any other person before in my life, let alone a female, and though I wasn't exactly positive when my feelings went from simply platonic to wanting more, I knew it was before I left for Vancouver to film. The other thing I knew was that I had to figure out a way to see if she felt the same way about me without coming right out and asking. If so, then it would be time to worry about how I was going to ask her on a date. But for now, it was time to figure out if she returned the feelings, or if I was stuck in the dreaded 'friend zone' everyone talked about nowadays.