Randy was lonely, he'd burnt a lot of bridges over the last couple of years and now that John was injured he had no one to talk to. Paul had come back from his injury a completely different man and Randy just couldn't relate anymore, he couldn't talk dirty diapers and first steps because he wasn't a father.

Kennedy had come back from his suspension as had Regal and Umaga, and they all were angry that Randy hadn't been suspended as well. The divas had steered clear of him ever since his practical joke spree.

And the rest of the Raw roster? They were either siding with the divas or someone he'd never gotten along with. Randy wasn't kidding anyone, he didn't even have Dave anymore, he was alone on the road.

Ever since John got injured he'd been wondering if wrestling was really the career for him. 200 plus days on the road, a new bed every night and the couple of days a week he was home he was still alone.

He'd been due to marry the love of his life, Samantha, but two weeks before the wedding she realized that she couldn't marry a man that was never home and she didn't trust him to be faithful on the road.

Randy had cried himself to sleep for a week and pushed himself into his work. Feuding with John had been the only thing keeping him going, but then John got injured and they weren't even going to give Randy the title.

It was then that Randy regretted the angry outbursts and smoking weed backstage, he would have the title otherwise. With the title came a nice little bonus and as many feuds as he wanted he would be the main event until John came back. But Randy had to get himself in trouble one too many times and there was no way that he was getting the championship now.

Randy checked into the next hotel and flopped down on the bed, some of the boys were going to a bar and sure they'd invited him but he knew they didn't mean it. In reality Randy just wanted to sleep, when he was in dream land everything was okay.

It was only while he was asleep that he could escape the physical and mental pain he felt whenever he was awake. Sleeping he could escape the real world and go back to when things were easier; when John, Dave, Paul and him were all on the same show. None of them were injured and Paul was yet to take on the responsibilities of fatherhood.

Dave and Paul would keep an eye on Randy and John, making sure they didn't get into too much trouble but they still had heaps of fun. That was before the drugs and the anger and the injuries.

The drugs helped him forget how good things used to be, they helped him forget that it would only take one more injury and he could lose use of his entire arm, let alone his job. Asleep he could relive the better days and forget how life really was then and there. Together the drugs and the sleep he could pretend that his life was perfect.

Alex wasn't doing much better than Randy. For a long time she'd been going through the motions of life but not actually living. She had plenty of friends but they had their own lives and were often too busy to see what was going on with her.

Alex wanted to fall in love, meet the perfect man and get her happily ever after but all the guys just saw her as one them. She never let on but it sucked, she could be just as girly as the next girl Alex just preferred the outdoors, hunting and 4-wheeling. It was unfair that it was those hobbies that tended to turn guys off viewing her as a love interest.

Another of Alex's favorite activities was the wrestling, though lately it didn't hold as much appeal. She had a girl friend that absolutely loved the sport as well and the two had front row tickets. Admittedly Alex didn't really care about going to the show anymore; it was just another thing that held her back from her own dream land where, like Randy, she found an escape. But she'd promised her friend and she had already paid for the ticket so to the wrestling she would go.

Like she had so often Alex went through the motions of getting ready for the show, she mechanically drove to her friends and picked her up before driving to the arena. She gave her ticket over and sat with a sigh, her friend barely noticed that she wasn't herself.

Not too far away Randy was doing similar; he was going through the motions of getting ready for the show. He showered, stretched and hyped himself up but inside he was completely numb, it wasn't the same any more.

Randy wanted a smoke, it didn't have to be weed, he had half a pack of Marlboro at the bottom of his bag but he had promised John that he wouldn't start again. Now John was gone for at least 6 months and those Marlboros were looking pretty good.

He had a while before his match and knew that he could easily sneak out for a smoke and get back inside before anyone noticed he was gone. Leaning back against a somewhat private wall he lit a cigarette and inhaled, it was the best feeling in the world. Each time he inhaled he could feel the pain drifting away.

Alex had left the arena, she claimed that she needed to go to the bathroom but had snuck out instead. She knew that as long as Justin Roberts was announcing and flirting with her friend she could go anywhere and her friend wouldn't notice. Keeping close to the building she wandered until she came across Randy, of course despite being a major fan, she didn't realize it was actually Randy Orton when she asked to bum a smoke.

"You lost?" Randy asked after watching his new companion light up her cigarette and inhale.

"No just getting some fresh air," she replied still not really looking at him,

"You're in a restricted area, wrestlers only"

"Oh sorry, thanks for the smoke," the companion replied before turning and heading back towards the main entrance.

"Hey you can stay, I don't care. What's your name?"

"Alex, you?"

Randy was shocked, he'd never been asked his name at a wrestling event before. Everybody knew who he was, how could this girl not? He looked her up and down and saw the shirt she was wearing, it was one of his so she had to be a fan, then he saw the sadness in her eyes.

And he realized that she hadn't noticed who she was talking to. It was the sadness he saw in his own eyes every time he looked in the mirror, the sadness that had caused him to stop looking. He couldn't bear his reflection anymore and wondered if she felt the same way.

"I'm the guy on your t-shirt," he finally responded causing his companion to look him in the eyes. She gave a weak smile and apologized, it was the best she could do. She'd always imagined meeting Randy and trying to kidnap him, keep him to herself but now she didn't care. The nicotine was kicking in and she was finally relaxing, it didn't matter that her friend was going to smell the smoke on her when she finally went inside, Alex was feeling the best she had in ages.

The fact that Alex didn't scream and giggle like an obsessed fan told Randy that the sadness he had seen in her eyes reached further.

"Do you ever just want to escape?" He sighed inhaling once more,

"All the time," Alex muttered and her phone rang, "and throw this away," she continued before answering the call.

It was her friend, Justin had noticed that Alex hadn't returned and commented on it. There were benefits and downfalls of sitting front row in the announcer's corner.

"I need to get back inside. Thanks for letting me escape," Alex muttered ending the call, not once had her voice reached much louder than a whisper.

"Anytime," Randy smiled sadly and watched as Alex stomped out the butt and headed off.

"Hey, we're staying at the Radisson if you wanted to escape later, room 212" Randy called out, not intending to sound like a sleaze, just wanting to perhaps get rid of some of the sadness he saw in Alex's eyes and hoping maybe it would help him.

Randy didn't know if it was the nicotine or Alex but in those few minutes he had spent with the woman he felt good, the pain was barely there and he felt ready to face Umaga. Another squash match to remind Randy that he may be talented but Vince McMahon owned his soul. As he took a second Samoan Spike Randy wondered once more why he was doing this.

After his shower he looked at his phone, a missed call from his dad, he knew his father wouldn't be happy. Randy listened to the message and sighed before throwing his phone in the bottom of his bag, the good feeling he had early in the night was now long gone.

He ached all over and was angry that Umaga was allowed to manhandle him like that. Most the guys took care with Randy's shoulder, they wouldn't attack that arm and if they did it was gentle it was the same with Paul's quads and Dave's biceps. But Umaga was different, he was a monster and just attacked, back stage he even told Randy that he was being a wimp worrying about his shoulder all the time. Umaga had gone through his entire career as a thug, he hadn't been in any real matches nor had he had any serious injuries.

Randy found a solitary spot down an empty hall way and hooked up his iPod, he was done for the night but protocol said he had to stay. No one would take a second glance at a guy in track pants and a black hoodie.

Sure enough he was left alone the rest of the show that is until Shelton wandered past and kicked his feet,

"Orton, time to go," he hissed before walking off. Randy had begun disappearing like this the week that John had gotten injured.

Shelton had stumbled upon him one day and began to keep an eye on him, making sure that he didn't miss the bus back to the hotel. Without saying a word Randy picked up his bag and headed to the bus.

Like usual Randy entered the hotel room and after dropping his bag flopped on his bed and sighed. He was more than happy to lie there until his wake up call the next morning. His cell phone was hidden in the depths of his bag and was on vibrate so nobody could bother him.

He was nearly asleep when someone knocked. Randy nearly screamed he was had been so close to escape. He hesitated answering and pulled off his shirt hoping that the person on the other side of the door would just go away and he could get to sleep. Unfortunately the knock persisted and Randy was forced to answer the door.

"Alex," he whispered remembering the girl he'd escaped with earlier.

"I hope you don't mind," she muttered in response. Alex was close to tears, she was tired and Justin had invited her friend out for drinks so she was stuck in the city. It was typical, her friend's wrapped up in their own worlds would forget about her and wouldn't care about how she was feeling.

"Come in, you look tired"

"Exhausted, Jamie's gone with Justin so I'm stuck in the city" Alex muttered and soon found herself collapsing into Randy's outstretched arms.

He knew how she must have felt because he often felt the exact same way. Sometimes you just need a hug and while Randy wasn't usually that kind of guy he'd been aching for a hug for ages.

They barely said a word, they didn't need to. They were two lost souls bought together. Randy led her to the bed and lay down pulling Alex against his chest. They didn't need to know ages or backgrounds.

At that moment all they needed was each other and they fell asleep both escaping into their dream worlds. No drugs and no sleeping tablets just each other. It wasn't a promise of a life time and they had no idea what would happen in the morning it was that moment that counted.

With Alex in his arms all of Randy's failures slipped away, it no longer hurt to breathe and he no longer felt angry. In Randy's arms Alex was no longer one of the guys, she wasn't failing at school and she felt safe. The only thing that she feared now was that it would all disappear in the morning.

A/N: To the real Alex who's been feeling a bit this way. Just know I'd never ditch you for Justin Roberts… Batista maybe but not Justin :-p