Title: Til Mine Is The Only Face You See
Plot: From the moment he broke into the business, Zack Ryder wanted to be noticed. He'd never realize she noticed what he'd become one day from the moment they met.
Rating: T for first kiss
Disclaimer: I only own Olivia. Zack Ryder and everyone else who may be mentioned belong to the WWE.
Since the moment I saw him, I knew he would be something. It was in the way his eyes shined as he stuck out his hand to shake mine, "Names Zack Ryder. Well, my real names Matt Cardona but Zack Ryder sounds so much more bitchin!" His smile was so blindingly white that I thought I needed to put on sunglasses.
"Olivia Devlyn," I smiled as I shook his hand. See, I worked tech for ECW at the time. I was in charge of wardrobing and I have to admit, this half pants/half shorts combo I had finished for him was something incredible.
"Cool Liv," he smiled, "you don't mind me callin you Liv do you?"
"Not at all Ry," I replied with a smile and a nickname of my own. We had just met and we already had nicknames for each other. "I can see the pants fit well."
"Pants, nah, they're more like ports or shants," laughed Zack, "But yeah, they fit well. You sew 'em?"
"I did," I confirmed with a grin, "Glad they work for you and glad I didn't screw them or your jacket up."
Zack smiled and ran a hand through his spiked up hair, "I feel bad. I'm just a jobber and you put so much hard work into my stuff."
I pushed a strand of my black hair behind my ear, "Oh it was nothing. And you'll be a real superstar before you know it."
"Thanks," he smiled and slapped my shoulder playfully as he ran out to make his way out to the ring. He lost that night. Badly. And he lost every night for a long while. And every night he lost, he and I would go out for drinks. It became a joke between us. He'd tell me that the next time he had a match, he'd win, and I'd have to pay for drinks. But he never won.
One day, after a particularly nasty loss to Ezekial Jackson, we sat together at the hotel bar, drinking. "What if I'm not meant for this?" he whispered, looking into his glass.
"What was that Ry?" I smiled at him, running a hand through my hair.
"What if I'm not meant to be a wrestler?" Zack asked, looking fearful, "This has been my passion since I was a kid! I gave up everything for this! I didn't get to prom or go out on dates…"
"Woah, you didn't go out on dates?" I asked with a smile, "You Mr. 'Stay here I'm pretty sure that chick was-"
"Your missing the point!" he pointed out to me exasperatedly, "Point is I'm in the wrong profession."
"Zack," I said taking his hand, "listen to me. I've seen you out in the ring. You may not win but you command that ring. You enjoy it. I've never seen anyone love being in the ring more than you."
Zack gives me a small half smile, "Yeah…I do take pride in what I do…"
"Then why are you so upset?" I ask, squeezing his hand lightly.
"I just…I've never won…ever," he shrugged looking back at me, "I wonder what it'd be like to win."
"Well from what I've seen they have parades and dance in the locker room with strippers," I tease, "it's no different than winning except you add a point in the W column instead of the L. Now, back to your dating life. You've honestly never been on a date? Just one night-"
"No! God who do you think I am, The Miz?" Zack replies, looking disgusted, "Don't date. Never been kissed. You?"
"Been on a few dates here and there, it's just hard to find a guy in this company who isn't a total tool."
"Hey," Zack said, giving me a look that spoke volumes, "you'll find a guy who gets it."
It was then that I realized we were still holding hands. It wasn't awkward, it was nice. He smiled shyly and leaned in to kiss me. I didn't hesitate to kiss him. I let him kiss me. But when he leaned back, I realized I hadn't felt anything. I didn't love him like that. He was like a brother to me, just a friend. "Zack…"
"Me neither," Zack chuckled, probably guessing what I was going to say.
"You'll be the brightest star the company's ever seen," I smile.
"You still hung up on that? C'mon, lets go to the pool," he laughed.
After that night he started winning, started being the one everyone loved. The more famous he got, the more the divas wanted him, and the less I saw of him. Every now and then we'd go for drinks but it's never really the same. Eventually ECW went defunct and the costuming department moved into an office at the corporate office in Stamford, Connetticut. Zack, he's gone on to be the fans want.
Sometimes, every once in a while, he comes by to see me. I never forget that I was the one who saw the diamond in the rough. And you know what? I don't think he has either.