Days like these frustrated her… and Amanda didn't want to admit it.
Across the Performance Centre, another argument had broken out between three of the former members of the Shield… and their Shield sister had had enough.
Amanda Rose Cena had had so many nicknames over the years. Shield sister was a recent one but hadn't been used much since mid 2014… and shortly after that was when she met Finn Balor and the fans nicknamed the pair the Demon King & Demon Mistress.
Here it was, late March 2016… Seth was getting near ready to return to action as his knee had been healing faster than he thought and Wrestlemania 32 was edging closer too.
"Mandy?"
Amanda blinked as Finn's Irish accent jarred her out of her thoughts along with his left hand resting on her left side, just above her hip. That kind of touch wasn't uncommon to the 25 year old, she had been around so many people in this business that even normal friendships had a bit of intimacy to them.
"Sorry… they're just driving me crazy." Amanda says, unstrapping the gloves on her hands and slipping them off before her left hand reached to her achy right shoulder and she rubbed it.
It had been earlier in the week where what they thought was a broken collarbone thanks to a mistimed kick into the barricade by Dash Wilder turned out to be the damaged nerves from Amanda's 2007 shoulder injury.
Dash had repeatedly apologized but Amanda hadn't spoken to him much since.
2007 was also around the time things fell apart… and not too long after was when she met a young fan…
10/7/07, WWE No Mercy pay per view…
"Hey." Randy says after cautiously approaching his now ex girlfriend.
"What now?" Amanda replied, Randy knowing that she was angry about her brother getting injured and having to be stripped of the championship… the same one that Randy had been handed and lost within 10 minutes after Hunter had beat him.
"Just wanted to see how you were doing." Randy says, also knowing that at the last No Mercy pay per view was when Chris Benoit returned and Amanda was so much happier then.
"John could be out for a year… you were given his title and then lost it to Vince's son in law. I don't know whether to laugh or slap you because that was a fucking disgrace out there! You proved nothing except that you can't be a champ without it handed to you, at least John earned his championship match!" Amanda says, Randy turning angry and snatched his ex's right arm into his left hand.
"Is everything okay back here?" Both heard, looked and saw a man dressed in a suit. "I'm Nathan Dawkins, head of the DPA… brought some of the kids here to see the show." Nathan says.
"Yeah, everything's okay… just a disagreement." Amanda says, her right arm out of Randy's vice like grip and her readjusting her low cut cropped red leopard print ring top which was in a crisscrossed halter style.
"Yeah. On the road most of the year, we all drive each other crazy at times." Randy says before they saw a small group of kids near Nathan.
Jodie and Amanda smiled at each other for a few seconds, Amanda extending her hand and Jodie shaking it.
"Nice to meet you." Amanda says.
"You too." Jodie says.
Amanda headed out to the ring for her match… when she returned victorious and with the Women's Championship on her shoulder, Jodie approached her again.
"Hey. Great victory out there." Jodie says.
"Thanks… it just feels weird though. First time I win a championship match, I'd always thought that my best friend would've been here… I can't even hug Chris anymore, he's gone." Amanda says, trying not to cry… and then shivering slightly as the air around her and Jodie turned cold. "Damn A/C… it's not even needed, it's October… what's wrong?" She mutters, asking the last part when she saw the look on Jodie's face.
"He's okay… your friend." Jodie says.
"Yeah… I just miss him so much. He started helping me learn how to wrestle three years ago but I had known him for six years along with his wife and son." Amanda says, Jodie seeing a message on a nearby mirror that said 'Daniel'.
"Daniel's happy now… he's watching you, he always will be." Jodie says.
"I miss that little boy… he was like a baby brother to me." Amanda says, unable to control her tears and Jodie pulled her into a hug.
Present time…
"It still hurts sometimes…" Amanda says quietly, brushing her tears away as Finn rested his hand on her back.
"And you never… found out who she was, how she knew that?" Finn asks.
"I just… thought she had watched the news that day in the summer… like everyone else had found out." Amanda says, absentmindedly readjusting her tank top… and then like it had that October evening, the air turned cold, which aggravated Seth as he and the others hadn't stopped arguing long enough to think it was anything other that Amanda playing a prank.
"Not funny, Mandy!" Seth says, Amanda flipping him off and Dean restraining Seth.
"Leave her alone, Seth!" Dean says.
"She just flipped me off!" Seth says angrily, Roman looking at the mirror.
"Roman, you okay?" Dean asks, Roman pointing to the mirror and all three seeing the message.
'With you three arguing so much, no wonder she sought shelter with him!'
"Okay, who wrote that?!" Seth demands.
"Probably someone who's going out of their mind, relax." Roman says, Seth's eyes narrowing at Finn and Amanda, who were heading outside into the cool spring air.
"Okay… either she's here again or I'm losing it." Amanda says as Finn grabbed his leather jacket from his car and put it on Amanda's shaking body, Amanda putting her arms in the sleeves… before both saw Jodie walk over to them. "Hey… you've changed." She says, noticing the differences between the Jodie she met nine years ago and the one stood before them.
"Yeah… just grew up really. Things happened." Jodie says.
"They do." Amanda says, Jodie noticing that Amanda had changed too as Amanda's hair was no longer a light brown and a burnt sienna colored nail polish replaced the black she had worn back then… but Amanda looked like she had hardly aged in those nine years and Jodie knew it was the trauma of the double murder-suicide that had caused that.
"Hey!" Seth says loudly, interrupting them.
"What now?!" Amanda snapped at Seth as he charged over to them.
"That message on the mirror, not funny!" Seth says.
"That wasn't her, Seth. We've been by each other's side since we got here today." Finn says, standing in front of Amanda to protect her.
"Stay outta this! Why are you acting like I'm gonna hit her?!" Seth says angrily before noticing Jodie.
"You know, I wonder if you have trouble separating yourself from your on screen character at times." Jodie says, startling Seth.
"Sometimes… look, there was some writing in the mirror in there." Seth says.
"What did it say?" Jodie asks, turning alarmed.
"It said 'With you three arguing so much, no wonder she sought shelter with him.'... why do you ask?" Seth says.
"Know somewhere we can talk it over?" Jodie asks.