He was a grown man. That's all you could keep telling herself. You had to constantly remind yourself that when he wasn't wrestling, he moonlighted as your friendly next door psychopath. Complete with jump suit, sheep mask and cult affiliation. To anyone else, he was a walking terror. To you, he was a giant five year old with the general disposition of an over grown puppy and a burning need to ride the damn tea cups.

He hadn't given you the option of saying no. He hadn't even asked if it was okay. Instead, he'd pulled a haphazard u-turn the second he'd passed the gates, ignoring your pleas that both of you were going to be late for the show that evening. He hadn't cared. All you'd heard was a long whiny story about how he hadn't been as a kid and how Bray and Luke never let him go when they had travelled together. He'd droned on and on about how some of the other family members had told him all about it. How fun it was. How he should go if he ever had the chance. Now here you both were. To him, it was destiny. To you, it was a giant pain in the ass. You had already been cutting it close as it was with getting a late start and all. Now you were definitely going to be late, but it couldn't be helped. Erick was twice your size and leaving him wasn't an option. He'd left you no choice on this one. So here you were, struggling to keep up with him as he made a mad dash for the ride.
"Come on Y/n!" You could see him just ahead of you, the hot Florida sun shining off his bare scalp. The sight of his red flesh made you reconsider his refusal to put on sun screen or at least wear a hat. You would've insisted on it again, had he not turned his head. The giant doofus was grinning from ear to ear, his inner five year old on full display. "We're almost there! I can SEE it!" You briefly waved at him, doing your best to keep up with him as he trudged his way through the crowd. Thankfully, he wasn't hard to miss, by you or by the crowd that parting to get the hell out of his way. You blindly followed behind him, wondering how you had gotten yourself into this mess.

It had started when Bray had walked away from Erick a few weeks ago. The so called terror had resembled more of a lost puppy than an ax murderer. He'd just stood backstage whimpering after Bray had left him, abandoned and confused as to what to do next. He'd arrived with Bray. He was supposed to be sharing a room with Bray. Now neither of those things was going to be a possibility. Bray was gone and there was nothing he could do about it. At first you had been minding your own business. It didn't matter how loud he had whimpered or how long he stared at you; there was work to be done damn it. You weren't interested in being distracted by him. At least you hadn't been, until you had made eye contact with him. Then everything had just gone straight to hell. One look into those big hazel eyes had done you in. The soft spot that you had for gingers kicked in and you soon found yourself riding down the road with a madman, listening to Norwegian Metal and swapping funny family stories. In truth it wasn't a bad arrangement for you. He liked to drive, usually it was to the point that he always insisted on it. He kept the music down when you were trying to sleep and made sure there was hot coffee nearby when you woke up. The best part of all of it was, he was protective as hell. If anyone even looked at you wrong, they ended up on the business end of his fist.

The only down side to all of it, was that all of this was temporary. You'd know it the second you had taken him in and you knew it now. The Wyatt Family was never apart for long, everyone knew that. You'd already seen Bray keeping an eye on Erick, a scowl crossing his face every time he saw you together. You knew Bray was floundering, that he was already looking to bring back Erick into the fold. There was no pretending Erick wouldn't go. As much as you wanted to believe you were friends, you knew better. To him you were just a stop gap. Bray was his family.
"Y/n!" His gravelly voice snapped you from your thoughts. You looked up at him, his normally dull face lit up like a kids on Christmas morning. "The line's so short right now. I think we can make it through with time to spare before we have to get back on the road." You looked just beyond him, seeing the ride a short distance away. "Come with me!" The original plan had involved you staying in the cool shelter of the Cheshire Cafe while Erick got his fill of his favorite ride. But now you were having second thoughts. Disney was bringing out the kid in you and passing up a chance to ride at least one ride seemed like a complete shame. Especially since he'd paid a small fortune to get you both the fast passes. "Pleeeeease" You glance up at him, noting the hopeful look in his eyes.
"Fine." You managed a breathy sigh, feigning annoyance. Not that he noticed. He actually jumped with excitement when you said yes. "But…" You pointed your finger at him, making him pause. "You owe me a trip to the Haunted Mansion if there's time AND I still want a picture of you in mouse ears." He gave you a huge smile. "Deal?" You changed fingers, extending your pinky out to him. He wrapped his larger pinky around yours, giving it a light squeeze.
"Deal!" He let go of your pinky, his larger hand wrapping around your smaller one before you had a chance to pull it away. "I think a green one is open! Let's grab IT!" He drug you towards the ride, his excitement making you giggle.

Unfortunately, by the time the ride had ended, you were about as green as the cup you had been riding in. Erick had discovered the wheel to manually spin the cup the second you both had gotten in. He had managed to turn a mildly nauseating experience into a stomach flattening ride from hell.
"Sorry Y/n." You just nod as he carries you over to the nearest bench. "It was just….it was just so much FUN!" He sets you down, giving you the biggest smile you'd ever seen. "Bray was wrong about this place. He always told me it was an evil pit of corporate greed hell bent on draining the masses of their hard earned dollars." He looked around for a second. "And maybe it is." He plopped down next to you, his smile changing to an affection one. "I think it's okay because I'm here with you." You give him a slightly bewildered look, unsure that he had just said what he had just said. There was no way he could have meant that, could he? "I told Bray you'd been so nice to me." The look we from bewilderment to worry. You hadn't realized he and Bray were back on speaking terms. Obviously that had happened a lot sooner than you had thought it would. "He said he likes the look of you." Erick scooted closer. "He wants to meet you properly." Properly? You weren't sure what properly meant. You'd spoken to Bray plenty of times before now. The only guess you had was that meeting properly involved meeting outside of work….alone.
"Erick…" You slowly sat up, doing your best not to give into the latest wave of nausea that was threatening to overtake you. As you sat up, you watched the smile on his face fall.
"Please don't say no!" He got a worried look on his face. "I promised him you'd talk to him." Of course he had. "He said you would be safe with him." For now. "He thinks you have potential. Please say you'll do it Y/n." He desperately took your hand. "Please!" Again you had to wonder what he meant by potential. Again you knew that Bray had been watching, but It was scary to think that Bray had been looking at you before Erick.
"I dunno Erick." You swallowed hard. "Bray….he makes me nervous." He nodded. "You did too, but I doubt he's going to drag me to Disney World at moment's notice after I get to know him." Erick let out a small laugh. "Tell you what." You glance at your watch. "We have just enough time to find some mouse ears and a photo booth. I'll think about in the car and I'll let you know when I get to the show." You weakly squeeze his hand. "Okay?" He looked away his eyes falling to the ground.
"I know what that means." He lets go of your hand. "You're not going to see him." His eyes came back up to your face. "He won't like it." There was something in his eyes that you couldn't place; worry, fear, maybe even a little anger. It was all swirling in his hazel eyes. "It's better if you say yes. I'll still be able to see you if you say yes." You blinked, that omission hitting you like a ton of bricks.
"Oh. So…."
"I'm going home with him after this loop ends. He wants me to help him in his war against Orton." He played with his fingers. "I was going to tell you tonight, after the show." You nodded. "But then he said you might be able to come with us. He thinks you would be useful with Luke and Braun gone." Again you aren't sure what to think. What use could you possibly be to Bray? You weren't big or strong or even hairy. What could he want with you? "But you don't want to come." You reach out, gently taking his hand.
"It's not that I don't want to come. I'm just afraid too." Your pause, seeing the understanding in his eyes. "Bray scares me. Whatever he wants from me, I can't think it's good. Plus, I have my family, my job and all the other baggage that comes with life. I can't drop everything to join a cult." You give him a sympathetic look.
"He said you would say that." He squeezed your hand. "I'll tell him, but he won't like it." You nod feeling yourself being overcome with sadness. Quite the oxymoron when you were at the happiest place of earth.
"So…. I guess this is it?" You look up at him with big eyes. He shook his head, giving you a warm smile.
"I don't have to go yet." He stood up, slowly bringing you with him. "We have enough time for a picture. Then that way, we can take each other where ever we go." You let out a laugh, finding that dopey as hell, but admiring the sentiment all the same. For whatever reason that was what you needed to hear.
"You're right. If this is it then let's, make it a fun it." He smiles down at you.
"Let's!" He grabs hold of your hand giving it a gentle squeeze. You two walk off hand in hand in search of a gift shop and a photo booth.