Beast In The East after party, 4 months ago…
"What the hell was in her drink, Wilder?!" Finn yells, grabbing one half of the Revival by his shirt as Amanda danced crazily on the table.
"Hey, Tiny was feeling down so I spiked her soda with rum… she'll be okay!" Dash says defensively.
"Okay?! She's on anticonvulsants, you idiot, she's not supposed to drink-" Finn shouts, both cut off by a loud thud and seeing Amanda on the floor, Finn shoving Dash away and running to Amanda.
"Oww… fucking hell, catch me next time!" Amanda says, shouting the last part at Scott Dawson as Finn crouched down next to her.
"I just turned away from her for a second, Balor!" Scott says as Finn glared at him before pulling some paper towels off the bar and pressing them to Amanda's bleeding head.
"I was the one being crazy, don't blame them." Amanda says as Finn brushed her hair back.
"They were the ones who spiked you with rum, damn it. I do blame them." Finn says.
It wasn't long before the medics showed up and Amanda was on a stretcher. At a nearby ER, she was stitched up and diagnosed with a mild concussion.
Amanda started feeling worn out from the long day they had… once she was released, Finn took her to their hotel room.
Amanda returned to him, cleaned up and ready for sleep, Finn helping her lie down and pulling the covers up to her shoulders.
"You were about to hurt them badly…" Amanda says, stretching out her left arm from the covers. She wasn't exactly sure how Finn had managed to turn them into a cocoon but it felt comforting.
"Damn right I was… they claimed they had harmless intentions but it was still wrong." Finn says, kissing Amanda on her forehead.
After taking her meds the next morning, Amanda stretched back out and Finn wrapped his arms around her... she let herself fall asleep again...
Present time, NXT TakeOver Respect…
She waited til the interview ended and saw them… before walking over.
Scott screamed out in pain after he felt Amanda's tiny right hand hit his face in a stinging slap hard enough to send him reeling back and leaning against a crate to keep himself upright, Dash keeping himself in the middle of his tag team partner and the furious Demon Mistress.
"Your slaps feel like punches!" Scott yelled once the ringing in his ears weakened enough.
"And the next blow will be an actual punch the next time you target one of his legs! Get your damn rage under control in that ring, the both of you fuckers!" Amanda shouted.
"Dusty was my mentor-" Scott started to say.
"He was mine too! More than that, he treated me like I was his own family, you think he took cheap shots in that ring and deliberately tried to injure his opponents?! He had a hell of a lot more class than you two asswipes!" Amanda said angrily, about ready to strangle Scott.
But strong hands braced themselves on hers to hold them down as she caught her breath from yelling at the two… Amanda looked up to see Finn, who brought his left hand up to the right side of her face and stroked it with his thumb.
"Ní mór duit socrú a dhéanamh, Mandy." Finn whispered once his mouth was by her left ear and his right arm was secured around her back, her right hand resting on his left hip and her left hand resting on his right hand.
"Gortaítear siad tú amach ann." Amanda said quietly.
"Alexa was fucking right, you two are too close!" Scott muttered before he could think, Dash immediately clamping his right hand over his friend's mouth as Finn and Amanda looked at him.
"You know better than I do that most relationships formed in this business are closer than the ones at home, Scott!" Dash said in a warning tone before turning back to the two. "Ignore him, he's just being an idiot." He explained before dragging Scott off with him.
"Ready to go back out there?" Amanda asked after a few seconds once she and Finn were leant against a crate… she was worried about his knee but he clearly had put some ice on it, judging from the imprint of the medical tape on his skin before he readjusted his knee pad.
"I was about to ask you the same thing… you looked like you were about to rip Dawson's and Wilder's throats out before I got to you and then switched that anger to Dawson after that comment." Finn answered as he rubbed his right hand up and down Amanda's back.
"We've all been caught up in this tournament since it started… tension runs really high back here at times, I forget… to just stop and take a breath. We launched right into it barely weeks after losing Dusty as well as Roddy." Amanda answered before Finn wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and she leaned against him, his left arm wrapping around her waist.
"And you haven't really had those moments to let your mind slow down…" Finn whispered, Amanda nodding as she took a breath when his left hand rested on her right hip. Carefully, he turned her around to face him and his left hand moved up to her face, resting on it. "When we don't take the time to think, our minds go into overdrive… Mandy, you can't do this to yourself. You can't bottle it up." He said as they hugged, him placing a kiss onto the side of her head as his fingers on his left hand ran through her hair.
For the first time in months, Amanda felt calmer… she felt like she could start to think clearly again.
