Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Summary: Ellie can't sleep. Wade can't sleep. As a result of insomnia, the two go out one night and make some mischief, discovering their feelings for one another along the way. WadeOC, requested by LegitElizabethWWEFan, oneshot
Okay! This is the last of the requests on my work list, and (sadly) the last one I'm going to do for a while, as my profile indicates. This is a Wade/OC fanfic, requested by the very awesome LegitElizabethWWEFan. She requested something inspired by one of two songs - "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk with Pharrell Williams or "That Way" by Shakira. I picked "Get Lucky." Aaand I really hope that you liked what I did with this! Thanks so much for requesting from me!
Up All Night
It was three in the morning.
Ellie Carmichael groaned and rolled over, trying to force the glaringly bright red letters from her mind. She read somewhere that looking at the clock made insomnia worse, but not looking at them was increasing that tenfold. A lose-lose situation if she had ever thought of one.
She honestly could not figure out why she was so unable to find sleep. Usually, as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out. She chalked that up to being a WWE Diva and the crazy schedule that accompanied it.
Running a hand through her dark hair, she looked over at her phone, at the text she had missed while trying to find sleep.
"What are you doing?" it said. "Want to go get Waffle House or something? I can't sleep."
A smile crept across her face against her own volition. Instead of texting back, she threw on a t-shirt and some jeans, washed her face, and rushed out the door.
Her feet were quiet on the carpeted hall of the hotel that the Superstars and Divas had stopped at for the night. She searched for his room number, one that she knew as if it were her own - she had spent a few hours in there today, watching a movie with him and trying to discuss the pros and cons of various films. He'd always disagree with her, of course, and that was what Ellie liked most about it - the discussion.
Ellie knocked on the door - once, twice, and it jerked open in the middle of the third.
Wade Barrett was staring at her, slightly amused, slightly crazed looking, and said, "Well, that took long enough."
"Waffle House?" she asked, skeptically.
"I'm up for anything," he replied, "as long as it gets me out of this bloody room. Sheamus snores like a freight train."
Ellie laughed, taking his hand on impulse and ignoring the way her heart thudded as soon as their fingers touched, and then lead him away from his hotel prison and out into the hallway, staring what would soon become a very eventful night.
"These eggs suck," Ellie said, pushing her scrambled eggs around her plate idly with a fork. The Waffle House they had chosen to go to was busy, filled with random people who looked equal parts interesting and off-putting. Most smelled of alcohol, few smelled of soap.
"Breakfast of champions," Wade replied, stubbornly, spearing a piece of sausage with his fork.
"The champions must suck, too."
Wade coughed out a surprised laugh. "Alright. You get to pick the next place we go."
Suddenly, a mischievous glint came across Ellie's features.
"You're going to regret that, Barrett."
Wade could only smile in response.
The music was loud, puncturing Ellie's ears with its violence. The beat was thrumming so loudly that it vibrated her entire being, seeming to reach up from the soles of her feet and nestle in the roots of her hair. Nonetheless, she smiled and looked over at Wade, whose eyes were so wide it looked as if he had been electrocuted.
"What's wrong?" Ellie shouted over the music, her voice still getting drowned out despite that fact. A grin crossed over her face.
Wade looked down at her, an eyebrow cocked at her in his complete disbelief of the place she had picked. The loudest club in town, the one that was open to all hours, the one frequented by people who loved the club music that sounded like chainsaws and whirring blenders.
"I'm going to miss being able to use my ears! These people are insane!" Wade shouted, just as the music stopped before switching over to a new track that began with a woman's moan. People turned to look at him, all appearing relatively murderous as his insult became known to them.
Ellie paled. "Uh..." she started. It was then she grabbed Wade's hand; the shock of their fingers touching was overridden by the angry club-goers' moans of protest. "Let's get out of here."
"You've never uttered a more intelligent sentence, my dear."
"Ellie, we just ate at Waffle House."
"That's not food."
"Neither is Taco Bell."
"Shut up, Wade, and eat your burritos."
Walking along the street in the middle of the night - or, early morning, really - was a very calming experience. There were a few party-goers still out, looking for another bar to go to, but otherwise it was very quiet. Ellie could practically hear the nighttime breeze as it blew against her.
The breeze was cool, brushing gently against Ellie's arms. She shivered lightly, not wanting to let her companion be aware that she was cold, but he noticed anyway, and wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders. Her heart skipped in response to the action, but she tried to ignore it.
"Aren't you the gentleman," she commented, making it a statement rather than a question.
Wade looked down at her, and suddenly her whole world was just him and this moment and she felt as if she should both run from it and embrace it at the same time.
"Far from it, dear," he replied, but even as he said it, she knew different.
Somehow, they ended up in Wal-Mart.
Ellie couldn't have told anyone how it happened, but she just skipped over to the toy section with clear intent, smiling as she came upon the section dedicated to WWE merchandise. The items for sale were all but gone - only a few replicas of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship remained, as well as a select few Superstars' action figures. No Divas' figures at all, which made her a bit sad.
However, when she saw the lone Wade Barrett action figure - clearly from a few years ago, since it was sans his latest tattoo - Ellie lit up, grinning maniacally and grasping it in eager fingers.
"Wade!" she exclaimed, giggling at just how inaccurate this toy was. Sure, you could tell it was Wade, but the features were completely different than the actual man's. It was to be expected, she supposed. There was only so much technology could replicate, after all.
Wade bumbled over, bouncing one of those overly large rubber balls and barely keeping it under control. He stood in front of her, trying his damnedest to dribble said ball without causing chaos, and Ellie held up the little replica of Wade himself, grinning.
Wade smirked. "Well, I must say, I am more handsome in person."
"Sure you are," Ellie commented, rolling her eyes, but in her head she found herself saying, Duh.
Wade tried to reach over to grab the toy from her hands, but in the process, the ginormous ball shot off to the left, knocking down a display case for the latest Disney movie. Wade's eyes got comically large in his head, and Ellie had to bite back laughter.
Until the security guard came around, having heard the noise, and Wade had to grasp Ellie's wrist, hastily forcing her along as they darted from the store.
"We should roll someone's house."
"...Ellie. We are not twelve any more."
"You did that stuff when you were twelve? I'm shocked!"
"Point is, I don't want to see our names on TMZ, with our mugshots, saying, Two WWE Employees Arrested for TP-ing Someone's House."
"I'm sure TMZ would be more eloquent than that."
"It's TMZ, Ellie. I think eloquence is thrown out the door when you work there."
"Good point, sir."
At the end of their series of adventures, the two found themselves walking along the street yet again. The streetlights were still on, but the lights were barely visible as the sun rose above the buildings that tower above them. The sky is filled with pink and orange and purple, a beautiful swirl of colors at which to glance.
Ellie could hardly keep her eyes open and this point, but she didn't want to miss anything - the way that the sky looked almost like a painting, the way that some night owls were just now leaving random bars, the way that the air smelled so fresh and clean despite being in a large city.
And, most of all, the way she was leaning against Wade.
He had not protested when she leaned her head against his shoulder out of sheer exhaustion. In fact, he had wrapped that strong arm around her shoulders once more, pulling her even tighter against his body. She had given a contented sigh at that, while Wade chuckled.
"Are we almost at the hotel?" she asked, wearily.
"Almost," Wade reassured. Where her voice was coated with sleep, Wade's was as clear and resonating as ever.
"Good." She gave a large, undignified yawn.
Wade chuckled, his fingers light as they ran along the side of her arm.
"Thank you for coming along tonight," he said, his voice so quiet he might have not spoken at all.
However, Ellie heard him, and felt him as he pressed his lips to the top of her head in such a tender gesture her heart ached. He twined his fingers through her own as the two continued to walk.
"Anytime," she replied, because she could not envision a world where she was not right here, by his side.
End.