Amelia sighed as she tried to cover up the hand-shaped bruise on her arm and then looked around to see Nick Nemeth, better known as Dolph Ziggler, staring at her from the doorway.
"When are you going to dump that moron?" he asked, referring to Amelia's abusive boyfriend Zac.
"He's not that bad. This only happens when he goes out drinking with his friends" Amelia defended the man she loved. Zac wasn't necessarily a bad guy, he was really very sweet. But when he drank with his buddies every Friday night, sometimes Mia would be on her weekend off and he would try and show her off.
"So every week?" Nick asked, earning him a glare so he raised his hands in surrender. "I'm just a concerned friend" he told her. Nick pulled her in for a hug and Mia sighed.
"You're always here when I need you" Mia said into his Dolph Ziggler t-shirt he was wearing.
"Always" he said. "Besides, who else knows how to hug this good?" Nick smiled and Mia pulled away to glare at him playfully.
"True" she admitted with a smile.
"You should head to guerrilla to meet up with your on-screen contractually obligated faction…well, one of them anyway" Nick said and Mia nodded before leaving to become 'Courtney' for the WWE Universe.
(October 27th) Raw; Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler
"The following contest is scheduled for one-fall. Introducing first, accompanied by Courtney, weighing in at 323lb. Kane" Lillian introduced as Courtney reluctantly followed Kane to the ring and waited at ringside for Dolph Ziggler to come to the ring. "And his opponent. From Hollywood, Florida. Weighing in at 213lb. He is the Intercontinental Champion, Dolph Ziggler" Lillian announced then exited the ring as Dolph began walking down the ramp. Dolph hugged Courtney as he passed her then entered the ring and the match began.
The match was definitely speed against power and speed won out with a sunset flip pin and Dolph quickly slid out of the ring where Courtney ran up to him for a hug. It wasn't long before Seth Rollins and J&J security came out to attack Dolph from behind and the Authority teamed up on Dolph until John Cena came to the rescue and cleared the ring. The two men celebrated in the ring while Courtney stood at ringside looking between team Cena and team Authority.
Raw; Backstage Segment
"Courtney" Hunter called out to the blonde bombshell who stopped walking and turned to face her boss and his wife.
"Yes Hunter?" Courtney asked.
"What the hell was that out there?" the COO asked.
"What was what?" Courtney asked as she rested her hands on her hips.
"You and Dolph? Are you on team Cena?" Stephanie asked.
"I'm contractually obligated to you aren't I?" Courtney shrugged.
"How about we add a stipulation to the match at Survivor Series, since you want to join team Cena so badly. If team Cena wins, you're free. But when the Authority wins, you will no longer be a WWE Diva, you will only be our assistant" Stephanie said.
"Do we have a deal? Or are you back on team Authority?" Hunter smiled.
"When team Cena wins, I'm gonna enjoy my freedom" Courtney smirked and turned to walk away but Hunter grabbed her arm and forced her to face him again.
"You're still our bitch until then, so I'd keep that pretty little mouth shut before you say something that we'll make you regret" he warned before she pulled her arm free and glared at him.
"I'm a big girl, I can handle myself. Unlike Kane losing to Dolph" Courtney said before walking away leaving Stephanie and Hunter watching after her completely unamused.
(Offscreen)
Amelia smiled as she saw Nick talking to Colby Lopez with his back to her and she walked up behind him with a cheeky grin. Colby spotted her and she quickly put her finger to her lips, signalling not to say anything and he went back to talking with Nick. A few more steps and Amelia was right behind Nick and she jumped onto his back and laughed.
"Mia, you scared the hell outta me" Nick said as he looked over his shoulder to see her beautiful smile.
"That was my intent" she grinned and kissed his cheek.
"How's your arm?" Nick asked and Mia slid off his back and looked to Colby who get the message and left the room.
"I've gotta go" Colby said as he left.
"Did you have to say something in front of him? Nobody needs to know" Mia said, a little upset.
"It was just a question, your arm could've been hurt from a match" Nick reminded her.
"I just don't want people thinking I'm weak" Mia told him.
"You're not weak. You just need to get rid of the bad in your life, and Zac is bad" Nick said as she leant against the wall.
"He's not all bad though Nicky, I loved him" Mia said sadly.
"Loved?" Nick asked.
"You really think I love being hit? Being called what I get called?" Mia asked.
"I know you hate it, which is my point; why do you stay?" he asked.
"Because I don't know how he'll react and part of me is afraid of what he'll do" Mia replied.
"So you stay because you're scared?" Nick asked and Mia nodded.
"I just don't know what to do" she told him and Nick pulled her in for a hug.
"Mia, you know I wouldn't let that asshole hurt you. Your Dad would kill him if he knew what was going on" Nick told her.
"I know" Amelia sobbed.
"Then dump his sorry ass and move in with me until you're back on your feet. I can help you move and so will Colbs and the guys. We all love you, Miss Amelia" Nick bowed and Mia giggled at his little girly bow.
"Thanks Nicky" she smiled. "But I want you there when I break up with him. You and my Dad" Mia said.
"Just tell me when and where" Nick smiled and put his arm over her shoulder.
Five days later and it was Friday night, it was a weekend off and Mia was nervous to say the least.
"I think I'm going to throw up" Mia whispered as she waited on the couch with Nick and her Dad for Zac to get home.
"You're overthinking this. He won't touch you, I won't let him" Steve said and kissed his daughter's forehead.
"I think I heard the front door" Mia whispered and then heard the familiar thud of Zac falling onto the door to hold himself up while he unlocked the door.
"Mia, I'm home my honey bear" Zac stumbled into the room with a beer in hand and two of his buddies behind him.
"Zac, we need to talk" Steve said as he stood.
"Oohhhh, Daddy's here" Zac slurred. Mia and Nick stood up and walked over to Steve and Zac.
"We're done Zac, you can crash here tonight but I'm staying in a hotel. My Dad will get my keys from you in the morning and you'll have to stay with your friends" Mia said. Zac glared at her furiously.
"You think you can kick me out of my own house?" Zac asked as he moved to stand over her but Nick pulled Mia behind him. "Pretty boy, you think she could ever love you? She's just a whore" Zac said and paid for it dearly. Nick punched him with as much force as he could and pulled back a very sore fist and then let Steve have his turn.
"Call her that again and you'll end up six feet underground. That's my baby girl you're talking about" Steve warned.
"So the infamous Sting is going to kill me for calling his baby a whore? What about a slut? Or a skank?" Zac grinned.
"Don't" Mia said as her father pulled back his fist, ready to punch the drunk. Steve looked to Mia and waited. "He's not worth it. Let's just go" she said and headed for the front door but Zac grabbed her arm.
"My little bitch, where are you going?" Zac asked.
"Somewhere people respect me" Mia replied and then slapped Zac across the face, leaving him in shock before she walked out the front door with Nick and Steve. Once they were outside Nick smiled and Steve burst out laughing, making Mia smile.
"Did you see the look on his face when you slapped him? That was priceless" Nick said in between fits of laughter.
"I think someone will have to pry his jaw off the floor" Steve chuckled.
"Feel better knowing you won't have to come home to that anymore?" Nick asked, referring to Zac.
"One hundred percent better" Mia smiled.
"I guess you'll be staying with me until you change the lock then" Nick said.
"Good thing I spend most of my time there anyways, means I don't have to pack much because some of my stuff is already at your place" Mia smiled and Nick pulled her to his side for a hug.
"What else are friends for?" Nick asked. He soon noticed Steve motion him to follow and leave Mia in the car.
"We'll be back in a sec Mia" Steve told her and then headed a few metres away so Mia wouldn't hear their conversation.
"Are you okay?" Steve asked.
"What do you mean?" Nick asked.
"I can see it when you look at her, I'm not blind. You're falling in love with her" Steve said, making Nick look to the woman in question.
"The falling part was ages ago. I've already landed on planet Earth and I know she only sees me as a friend" Nick told him as he folded his arms across his chest.
"She cares about you, more than you realise. I think I know my daughter well enough to know that the reason she wanted you here was because she knows you'll protect her. You're her knight and I'll always appreciate that" Steve told him.
"I don't know how I can be around her much longer. I want more from her than she's willing to give me" Nick admitted, letting his arms fall to his sides.
"Tell her how you feel. That's all you can do" Steve said.
"And if she doesn't feel the same?" Nick asked. "I'll have lost my best friend" Nick reminded him.
"You'd be surprised" Steve said and headed back to the car to avoid any more discussion.
"Everything okay?" Mia asked as Nick finally got into the car.
"Yeah" Nick lied. Everything was not okay, he was madly in love with his best friend who had clearly put him in the friend-zone.
Raw; Authority, Courtney and Dolph Ziggler segment
Dolph Ziggler made his way to the ring and stood in wait for his opponent when the Authority came out with Courtney being dragged along by Kane. Once inside the ring, the Authority talked a lot of trash before getting to the point.
"Now Dolph, here's the thing; we're not naïve, we know what everybody's saying, we hear the rumours. Sure, a lot of people think that we are petty enough to punish those that might wanna team with John Cena, that might want to oppose the Authority. They think that we would hold some kind of grudge against that. We wouldn't" Triple H said. "You're free to do what you want Dolph, you're free to partner with who you want and side with who you want but I would like you to question a few things about it because if you do side with John Cena, well then what happens? Let's just play this out a little bit, let's role play. Let's just say you win, let's just say team Cena wins, who do you think gets the credit for that Dolph? Is it you? Do you get the credit for team Cena winning? Or does John Cena look like an even bigger hero because John Cena wins with Dolph Ziggler on his team?" Triple H asked. "But let's play this out the other way. Let's say that team Cena loses, who takes that heat? John Cena gonna take the blame for that loss? Or is that going to be you? Is John Cena already setting himself up for the inevitable loss by saying 'what would you expect with somebody like Ziggler on my team'? You know, don't get me wrong, I don't think there's anything about you Dolph that's a failure. I don't believe that at all, it's just; you know as well as I do that every time you seem to rise up to the top there's something in your way. Somebody that no matter how hard you work, and you do work hard, probably harder than any other superstar in the back and that's a fact, and here's the thing; who gets the credit for that? Is it Dolph Ziggler? No, no, it's John Cena. Right? And you can call it whatever you want, you can say that's the glass ceiling, you can say it however you want to say it. But if it's a glass ceiling you certainly can't see through it" Hunter continued by taunting Dolph with John Cena's 'you can't see me' motion. "And you certainly can't break through it can ya?" Hunter taunted.
"You have to ask yourself too; where is John Cena tonight?" Stephanie asked.
"That's a good question. Where is John Cena? He cares so much about his supposed team he's not even here for you tonight. But that's okay Dolph, let's just say it is what it is and let's say you take the gamble. Let's say maybe, maybe it works out for you. Maybe you get everything you wanted out of life. Maybe teaming with John Cena gets you championship shots and you're the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, you get the girls, you get the money, you get the fame, you get all their adulation" Triple H motioned to the fans and then walked back to Dolph. "Maybe" he finished.
"But that's an awful lot of maybes" Stephanie noted.
"It certainly is. There's a lot of maybes, there's a lot of uncertainties. Or; you can just pick up the phone and tell John Cena the answer is no. Coz here's the thing Dolph; you know you have the talent, you know you have the ability, and I know it and the thing is; you want certainty, you want to get rid of all the maybes in your life? We can tell you how. You make a decision right now, you pick up the phone and you tell John Cena the answer's no and all your uncertainty goes away Dolph. Write your own ticket. You can have anything you want. See, this is where it gets interesting Dolph, right? This is where it gets interesting. You ask, we give. Anything you want Dolph" Triple H tried to convince the Show-Off. Dolph looked tempted and Courtney watched him rub his chin in thought.
"Don't listen to them Dolph, think about yourself" Stephanie said. Dolph then lifted the microphone to his lips and looked to Courtney then to Hunter.
"I can get anything? Anything I want?" Dolph asked as he walked closer to the Authority.
"You name it. Anything you want. All you gotta do is ask" Triple H smiled, believing he had Dolph Ziggler won over. Ziggler nodded and moved his microphone to his left hand.
"Alright, you know what I want?" Dolph asked quietly into the mic. "I want you out of power. I want you gone, I want your wife gone, I want the corporate stooge gone, I want the sellout gone, I want these two jabronees gone. I want them out of power, for good" Dolph shouted with determination, then looked to Courtney and smiled. "I also want that beautiful woman right there to have her freedom back" Dolph said and Courtney nodded with a smile on her face.
"That's too bad. It's too bad, I really wanted to give you all what you want. Steph and I want nothing more than to give to you what you want. But Dolph won't let it happen. So now when you're little 12 year olds are out there tweeting your displeasure to me about this just remember that you have nobody to blame but Dolph Ziggler. See these are the crossroads in life, where decisions are made Dolph and if the wrong decision is made then sometimes you end up empty handed and I hope for your sake that you don't end up empty handed. Coz that could start at any time, like right now for example, when you defend that Intercontinental Championship right now against the future of the WWE; Seth Rollins. Good luck Dolph, you're gonna need it" Triple H said and then everyone left the ring except Dolph, Seth and Courtney.
"Move it Courtney" Stephanie ordered and Courtney slowly left the ring and was told to stay with J&J security to help out Seth if he needed it.
The match was relatively back-and-forth until Dolph started to build momentum and that was when Joey and Jamie started causing distractions which eventually ended in Joey getting knocked off the apron and Jamie delivering a hangman to Dolph who was then hit with the Curb Stomp. Seth smirked in the ring and Courtney looked on until she heard the crowd come to life as Randy Orton entered the ring and hit Seth with the RKO and the bell rang to signal a DQ finish. J&J got on the apron but Randy turned around and waited to strike but J&J were smart enough to drop back down to the floor. Courtney couldn't help but grin as Randy stepped over Seth's fallen figure and got out of the ring before heading up the ramp and passing an angry Kane. J&J got into the ring to check on Seth but Courtney slid into the ring and checked on Dolph. Kane entered the ring and pulled Courtney away from Dolph while J&J helped Seth to his feet and then headed backstage.
(Offscreen)
Mia smiled as she walked with April and Brie towards catering.
"I know, this storyline with you is going to be great. Going against the Authority? I mean, I had fun" Brie said and Mia nodded.
"You have no idea how interesting this is going to get" Mia told her.
"You know something we don't, don't you?" April asked.
"Maybe" Mia grinned.
"Not spilling any secrets are you?" Mark Carrano asked from behind the three ladies, making them jump.
"Nope" Mia replied.
"Good. I actually wanted to discuss something with you and Nick, do you know where he is?" Mark asked.
"We we're going to meet up in catering" Mia replied.
"Okay, can you both meet me in my office as soon as possible?" Mark asked and Mia nodded. "Thank you, I'll see you soon" Mark smiled and headed back towards his office.
"What was that about?" April asked.
"I have no clue" Mia replied.
"Maybe you're in trouble" Brie teased.
"No, she's too much of a goody-two-shoes for that" April joked.
"I will kick you" Mia warned. "Both of you" Mia said to Brie who was about to open her mouth. They soon saw Nick talking to John Cena who had Nikki by his side and the girls headed over.
"Hey" Mia greeted.
"Ladies" Nick greeted.
"Mark asked to talk to both of us, he wants us in his office ASAP" Mia told Nick who nodded.
"Okay, let's go" Nick said then looked back to John. "I'll see you later" he waved and followed Mia to the office of Mark and Jane.
"Hello" Jane smiled as they entered the room.
"Hi Jane" Nick and Mia greeted her.
"Mark and I were discussing a plan to add to the storyline heading towards Survivor Series and would like to get your opinion on it" Jane said.
"Okay, what was the storyline?" Nick asked as he leant against a table and Mia sat on the chair next to his knee.
"As you already know, Mia has been pulled into the stipulation for the Survivor Series match and the crowd loved it when you spoke about her freedom. So Jane and I were thinking of putting the two of you into a romantic storyline as soon as possible" Mark informed the two. Nick quickly regained his composure and Mia just stared wide-eyed at Mark and Jane.
"Uhhh, what?" Mia asked in shock.
"You two have a friendship that goes back four years and the on-screen chemistry that you have is undeniable. We think the fans would eat it up" Jane said.
"What do you think? As you know it's completely up to you, if you don't feel comfortable with it then just say no and we'll leave it alone" Mark told them.
"Nick?" Mia asked, looking over her shoulder at her best friend.
"I, I uhhh. What do you think Melia?" Nick asked using the nickname that only he could use without being punched.
"It would be a little weird, but if it furthers our careers…" Mia let the sentence linger in the air.
"I guess it'd be okay" Nick shrugged.
"Okay then, we'll get it set up so that on Smackdown you two will start this storyline" Jane smiled.
"You two are dismissed" Mark said and Nick was quick to leave the room and head back to the almost empty locker room to clear his head. A romantic storyline with his best friend who he was in love with? Why did he agree to this?
A/N – I'm in the process of writing four stories so I won't post every day. I like the idea I had for this story and just had to write it. I love reviews (good or bad) because they help me to improve. Have a great day/afternoon/night wherever you live in the world and I hope you enjoy what is to come in this story