(A somewhat longer) Author's Note: Woo! Another story! I'd just like to say that I've gotten into the swing of writing again, so I hope that after the holidays I'll be able to keep a consistent pace going. I've had this idea for a bit (a rare non Sasha x Becky fic! o:), so I'm happy I finally got to write it down. I have no idea why "sad Becky" is just so fun to write. Also, the perspective switches a bit from Becky to Paige. It seemed to work nicely when I wrote it, so I don't think it should be an issue. All that being said, enjoy, and happy holidays!

Don't Say It's Over

Becky Lynch was never one to feel sorry for herself. Always a fighter, always optimistic, the orange-haired woman never let negative thoughts overtake her mind. She was the one that got knocked down, but would get back up again, and in stylish manner. "I'm tenacious as a cockroach!" she often told others; being the queen of comeback was her claim to fame. Those who looked up to Becky did so because she wasn't afraid to break barriers, to be a little out there, and do it with the biggest smile on her face.

Only tonight wasn't a time for smiles - tonight wasn't about making a comeback, or about showing the world just how much of a fighter she truly was. No, tonight was about sorrow, about self-pity. More importantly, it was about taking all of those emotions and drowning them out with alcohol. That is, if she could ever force the liquid down.

There was a terribly low amount of bars in this small town, and while it wasn't Becky's intention to drink, after searching for the bar for so long, it would be a crime not to. The journey - and it was a journey - to find this place left her alone with her thoughts for more time than she would've liked. She had time to think about Sasha, and how an NXT Woman's Championship match effectively ended their friendship. She thought about Charlotte, a woman that she considered her sister, and how she was slowly becoming as rotten as her father used to be. She even thought about Paige.

She wished she hadn't.

Paige and Becky have known each other for years, back when competing in the WWE was only a pipe dream for the both of them. With neither one of them growing up in the United States, the two found it easy to talk to one another about anything and everything: their struggles to achieve their dreams, the fear that perhaps they would never have the opportunity to wrestle overseas, the wishful thinking that, if they worked twenty times as hard, the WWE would see their talents on display and recruit them.

When she saw Paige win the Divas Championship on her debut night, Becky couldn't have been more proud of her friend. It was only a matter of time before it was her turn, she told herself, and within one year's time, she was fighting side-by-side with the woman that she practically grew up in the industry with. It was an amazing moment - seeing Paige's face when her music hit, and when they stood together with Charlotte to start the Divas Revolution. It was all so surreal.

Like most things in Becky's life, however, it was too good to last for long. The night after Charlotte won the Divas Championship was the night that everything changed. Paige wasn't shy about voicing her opinions on the daughter of Ric Flair, but what hurt the most was hearing her opinions on Becky, herself. To hear her long time friend call her 'irrelevant' hurt more than anything. Up until this point, Becky had succeeded in putting on a brave face, but now things were reaching their boiling point, what with Charlotte not believing Becky could win or do anything on her own.

As Becky tried to stomach another swig of her beer, it was becoming apparent that maybe drinking just wasn't for her.

Paige couldn't believe the trouble she had to go through to find this place. Not only did her cab driver smell like a toilet, but he charged her twice the normal amount of cab fare. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best idea to refer to him as an 'old fart.' Ten times. Nonetheless, she was here, and she desperately needed a drink.

"Stupid, cheating Charlotte," she mumbled to herself, the bartender taking his sweet time getting to Paige. If it weren't for Charlotte's ancient father, Paige would be a three-time champion, and in under two years. Unfortunately for her, things didn't work out in her favor. No one believed her, but she knew all along that Baby Flair never deserved to be champion.

The sound of the bartender's voice broke her train of thought. "Can I get you something?"

"About time," Paige said. To say that she was still a bit peeved at the cab driver would be an understatement. "Why is there only, like, two bars in this goddamn town?"

"Sorry about that," he responded, apologizing mostly for the sake of apologizing. "I'm guessing you're not from around here, huh?"

Paige blinked in astonishment. "You don't know who I am?"

"Should I?"

For a moment, she thought about asking him if he owned a computer, or a even a television for that matter. Remembering what she came here for, she chose to keep quiet. The last thing Paige wanted was a conversation with a stranger. "No, forget it." Realizing she had yet to order anything, she took a peak behind the man, hoping that one of the bottles would catch her eye. "Eh, I can't really think of anything I want. Just… surprise me, I guess."

"Okay. One surprise for the lady." A few minutes of silence passed, the bartender mixing an assortment of colored liquids that Paige felt should never go together. She was too tired, too upset, to care about that though. "So," the man paused his mixing, turning to Paige. "Are you from Ireland, too?"

"What?"

"Some weird chick came in here about an hour ago; said she was from Ireland. She looked pretty miserable, so I haven't had the heart to tell her the place closed about an hour ago. Lucky you." He pointed to the farthest corner of the bar, his finger landing on a woman with bright, orange hair sitting alone at a circular table.

Paige couldn't believe her eyes. There was no doubt in her mind that the woman was Becky, but why here, of all places? She was unaware that Becky even drank at all. Seeing the Irish woman made her blood boil, reminding her of the one who she was actually mad at - Charlotte. Nonetheless, this was a prime opportunity to mess with the Divas Champion through her best friend. Ignoring the bartender's words - "Uh, lady? You forgot your drink." - Paige sauntered over to where Becky was sitting.

Upon reaching her side, Paige took the time to look Becky over. Paige had to agree - Becky looked absolutely miserable. Her hair was a disheveled mess, her make-up was smudged, and her clothes looked…

Well, her clothes were always sort of nutty.

It was almost enough to make Paige feel sorry for her former friend. Almost. Becky was Charlotte's best friend, so any sympathy was immediately cast aside in favor if spiteful hatred. "Aww, if it isn't little Becky!" Paige cooed, the venom in her voice clear as day. Luckily, she was out of earshot from anyone else in the bar, so taunting would be made much easier. "Where's your 'biffle', your 'bestie?' Is she too good to be in a place like this? Or maybe she got tired of you clinging to her like a child."

"Go away." The response was practically robotic in nature, as if Becky didn't care about what Paige was saying to her.

Paige glanced at the bottle on the table; she couldn't exactly tell what it was, but it had barely been halfway finished. So Becky most likely wasn't drunk, which meant that this would probably irritate her a lot more.

"Sorry, calling you a child wasn't right. You're not a child, you're more like a lapdog."

That earned her an angry glare from Becky, but nothing in the way of spoken words. Time to go in for the kill, Paige gleefully thought to herself. She pulled up a chair and took a seat opposite from Becky, who turned her face away in response. She was trying to avoid confrontation, but Paige wasn't going to allow that.

"You're so pathetic, Becky!" Paige stated with a derisive chuckle. "You know, an Irish person drinking is such a stereotype. It'll go great with your, 'friend that gets treated like trash' stereotype."

Swiftly and fiercely, Becky slammed her open palm onto the table, catching Paige off-guard. This time when she glared at the younger woman, she didn't turn away. Paige had never seen Becky's eyebrows furrow so tightly before; her efforts to get under her skin were definitely working.

"I know what you're trying to do, Paige!"

"Oh, do you?" Paige responded smugly.

"You're using me to get to Charlotte. But it's not going to work."

So Becky was smarter than she looked, whatever. That was of little consequence, and she was going to continue pushing her. "You should be familiar with being used by now. Sasha did it, I did it. Charlotte's probably going to take a turn for the heck of it. You make it so easy."

There was no reply from Becky, the orange-haired woman avoiding eye-contact with her adversary across the table once more. It was evident to Paige that Becky was hurt, her arms crossed over her chest, and her face looking despondent. This only served to frustrate the former Divas Champion, who wanted Becky to argue with her. The goal was to anger her, Paige wanted her to be reckless, but instead she was only crushing her spirits. "People use you because you let them. That's what I was going for. Did you get that?"

Again, Becky didn't move, didn't say a word. Paige heard an audible swallow, but nothing else. "God, this is no fun. Can't you even stand up for yourself?"

"This isn't going to work," the older woman replied, fixed in her position, both physically and mentally.

Becky's short replies, and sometimes lack thereof, were beginning to test Paige's patience. "And why's that? Because you're Becky Lynch, and you're so strong-willed!" She mocked Becky's typical upbeat attitude, using exaggerated hand motions to get the point across. "Is that what you're going to say?"

Becky shook her head, her body shifting in her seat to look Paige in the eyes. "No! It's because Charlotte probably doesn't give a rat's arse about me anyway. She's changed. Trying to get to her through me is… is stupid."

This was a strange turn of events, though it didn't come as a total shock to Paige. Except that Charlotte wasn't 'changing,' as Becky worded it - Charlotte was always that way. The fact that Becky was only realizing this now spoke volumes about her personality. That's what Paige believed, at any rate. "Well isn't that heartbreaking?" Paige pouted her lips in an attempt at mock sadness. "Poor Becky, all by herself now."

"Why are you-!" Becky began to shout, but remembered that they were in a public space. She didn't want to draw unwanted attention. Neither she nor Paige were under the influence, but she doubted that was the case with everyone else around. Now more calmly, she tried again. "Why are you being like this? This isn't you, Paige."

Paige fought the urge to laugh in Becky's face. How naive could one person be? "Seriously? You really think that?" Her mouth was agape, unable to believe that Becky was this idiotic. "I've always been like this. I do what I have to do to get where I want to be."

"Spare me the drama, okay, Paige?" Becky had enough of Paige's attitude, and she wasn't going to buy into her act. "I know this isn't the real you. You're not this psychotic, evil witch that you're pretending to be."

"Puh-lease, Becky!" Nobody was going to tell Paige who she was, especially not this woman. "You don't know anything about me."

At that, Becky gave Paige a confused look. "What are you talking about? We've known each other for years!"

"Don't act like that meant anything to you. As if you really cared about some stupid teenager from Norwich." Paige had no idea why she said that, or what was coming over her, but Becky was pushing all of the right buttons. This wasn't how this conversation was supposed to go. How did this happen? She needed to compose herself.

"How can you even say that with a straight face?" As hurt as Becky looked before, she looked even moreso now. "You think I didn't care about you? Our friendship meant so much to me. You meant so much to me; you still do. When you first won the Divas Championship - I was down in Florida, barely even scratched the surface here - I saw it all, and I jumped for joy because I was so happy for you."

"Oh, bull."

"It's not!" Becky exclaimed. She wanted to get through to Paige somehow, but she needed to finish. "I thought, 'One day, Paige and I will be in that ring, fighting for that title, at the top together.' And then we formed PCB, and I never imagined a single person could be so happy. It was amazing."

At this point, Paige's looked beyond furious, not wanting to hear any of what Becky was saying right now. This conversation took a turn for the emotional, and she was not pleased. "The problem, Becky," Paige spat her name, hating how it sounded - hating everything about it. "Is that there is only one Divas Championship. You have no idea what it's like, do you? To have to live in a family full of wrestlers. The Divas Championship isn't just something I want, I need it. Because it shows that I'm the best, and I have to be the best. If I'm not the best, then what am I? Nothing. Worthless." Paige's was breathing forcefully, unable to control herself as she spoke. She wanted to walk away from the woman across the table, but it was too late. Everything was out in the open. They spoke plenty about their insecurities when they were younger, but Paige never mentioned this - her desire to become the best, to please her family, to make herself feel like she was worth something.

This was a reversal of roles if Becky had ever seen one. She looked over at Paige, who in turn took it upon herself to face away from her. This was such a mess. "Your worth isn't defined by how many championships you hold."

"Don't lecture me about championships. It's not like you've ever held one anyway!"

Paige was going to fight her all the way through this, it seemed. Well, that was fine by Becky. This was something Paige needed to hear. Besides, her only alternative measure was to slap some sense into her, literally. "Maybe not, but what good is holding a championship if you have to sacrifice everything you care about?"

"You think I cared about you?"

"I know you still do. I care about you too."

Paige regretted not walking away when she had the chance. In fact, she regretted coming into this bar in the first place. She regretted talking to that stupid bartender, who had to point out Becky to her, and why? Because they had a similar accent? This was only the bottom of a long list of regrets. "That's not true. You're irrelevant; I said so before! To everyone! To Sasha, to Charlotte, and," Paige's eyes were downcast as she spoke, "to me."

"Then why are you still here?"

"Because you talk so freakin' much, you loudmouth." Even Paige had to admit that her counter was weak. She wasn't sure of how else to reply.

"You're still my friend, even though you've been un-beer-able lately." Becky wasn't sure if the look Paige was giving her was a quizzical one or a disappointed one. Maybe a cross between both. "Like… beer. Get it?" This undoubtedly was a terrible time for puns, but she hoped it would, at the very least, ease some of the tension. And there was plenty of tension.

"I get that you've lost your mind."

"Okay, look. I'll make it easy for us both." In another surprising move, Becky extended her hand out to Paige, who leaned back in her chair. "If you shake my hand, then we'll be friends again. It doesn't have to be over between us."

This was unbelievable, Paige thought. Her mind was echoing her words from before - "This girl has lost her mind." However, part of her momentarily contemplated shaking the hand before her. But she was Paige! She didn't need anyone, especially not someone she had history with. She needed to be a champion, and people were only an obstacle in the way of that.

Another part of her, though, took Becky's words to heart. Maybe she didn't need a championship, but instead needed a friend. Becky was a person that was there for her at her lowest, when she was ready to give up on her dreams. She helped her become a better wrestler. Becky's road was not an easy one either; she fought tooth and nail with addiction and self-loathing, but together they helped each other become better people as a whole.

Despite their past, that didn't excuse Paige's behavior in the present. She'd mocked Becky, tried to bring her down, make her feel as worthless as she felt sometimes. Was it that easy to just be friends again? Was Becky that much of a forgiving person?

"I can tell you're thinking about it."

Paige let out a huff of air. "Oh, come on. You're saying that it's that simple? Shake hands and be friends again?"

"Yes," came the equally simple reply.

And now this woman was smiling, too, her hair still a disheveled mess and her make-up still smudged. She was such a mystery to Paige, who looked over Becky's hand once more, carefully, trying to detect any hints of a trap.

"My arm is getting tired here."

"Hypothetically speaking, how do I know you won't take my arm and lock me in the Dis-arm-her?"

Becky scoffed. "If I wanted to hurt you, I would've done that a long time ago. You definitely gave me a lot of reasons to."

Paige was still wary, but against every thought in her mind that warned her not to - but maybe deep down, she'd wanted a friend for a while - she took Becky's hand in her own, giving it a firm shake. "You better not be drunk," Paige added, secretly hoping that this was genuine and not a drunken stupor from Becky.

"I actually hate the stuff." Becky made a sour face, passing the half-filled bottle of beer to Paige. "I drank two sips 'fore you strolled on over here with your trash talk."

"Yeah… uh… I'm… That thing that people are when they want to be forgiven?"

"Sorry."

"Yeah."

Becky was about to accept her apology, but Paige cut her off before she got the chance. "Wait. What the heck are you doing in a bar if you don't like to drink?"

"I thought I was being adventurous!"

"Huh. Well, I guess me offering to buy you a drink is off the table now."

Becky thought for a moment, before noticing her bottle once more. "Actually," she started, "You could pay for that one. That's sort of the same thing."

"I was only kidding about buying you a drink."

"Oh, what's a couple of dollars between close friends, right?"

Paige wanted to argue, but she definitely deserved all of the teasing Becky had to dish out. If Becky wanted to make this work, after everything that happened between them, then Paige had to make it work as well. She did need a friend - she needed Becky, and Becky needed her.

"Okay, so how much for the drinks? Mine and the Irish girl's," Paige asked, swinging her head in Becky's direction.

"Well, the lovely lady's drink comes out to five dollars. Yours comes out to… forty-five ninety-nine."

"What?!"

"You said to surprise you. You never said anything about it bein' cheap."

"… Becky!"

She wondered if her friend would be willing to spot her some money. After all, what's a couple of dollars between close friends, right?