Hi, everybody! First off, just want to say I have been reading fanfics for a long, long time, and I've finally worked up the courage to post one of my own. I hope you like it :) Constructive criticism is always welcome! I've posted a couple chapters just to give you a taste for what is to come. Right now the story is rated T. I'm almost positive it will eventually become an M because, well, come on. We all want to read a lemon about Dean Ambrose. ANYWHO, thanks for stopping by, and let me know what you guys think!

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Jade held the contract in her hands. Earlier today she had signed it, Paul Levesque and Stephanie McMahon both in attendance at the WWE Performance Center this morning when she did, and she had been staring at it for the better part of the evening in disbelief. All this hard work, the blood, sweat, and tears, had paid off. She was moving up to the main roster in a few weeks, and the toil at NXT had been worth it. Seven years had passed since she turned 18 and began her training in the ring.

"I still can't believe it." Leah came rushing over to sit beside her, a glass of white wine in each hand as they sat on the couch in Jade's living room. Leah was better known by her ring name, Carmella, and the two of them had grown close over the past few years during their tenure at NXT.

"Me neither. I mean, I have always wanted this." Jade shook her head taking the wine from Leah's hand. She set the contract on her coffee table and glanced at the TV that went ignored in the background.

"You're destined for greatness. With a last name like Michaels, you are meant to be in that ring." Leah smirked as she took a sip and leaned back into the couch.

"Not necessarily." Jade cracked a smile. Her dad was Shawn, the Heartbreak Kid himself. Despite the shadow he cast over her, she never allowed herself to be intimidated by him, instead using his fame as fuel to become his equal in the women's division. They also had a pretty complicated relationship, but that was besides the point.

His first wife Teresa was her mom, and their marriage was short-lived ending in divorce by 1994. He was out of their lives just shy of her fourth birthday with the only glimpses she caught of him after that on television. It wasn't until she was about seven that he re-emerged, albeit only a few weeks at a time each year, and at ten that he re-married and swore that he was a saved man. He had struggled with his demons throughout the years, and the gaps in their relationship reflected that.

People liked to make it sound like Jade was skilled because she was his daughter, but it couldn't have been further from the truth. Her whole life she had went by her mother's maiden name and refused to accept the praise and adoration of her trainers and co-workers whenever they referred to her lineage. 'Michaels' was something she added to her ring name, Jade, to quell the appetite of the higher ups in the company upon her debut, and no doubt her own father. Her long, dark hair and rocker look in the ring wasn't like his character at all, the name and glint in their eyes the only similarity between the two.

"It seems like yesterday we were both here, all bright-eyed and bushy tailed." Leah gushed. "Now you're leaving us, moving up to the big leagues."

"You'll be right behind me." Jade nodded at her setting her glass down on her coffee table. She turned to AMC, the newest episode of Walking Dead about to begin as it was Sunday night.

"Whatever happens, don't forget to have fun." Leah smiled and tucked a strand of her long, blond hair behind her ear. Jade returned her expression and sank further back into the cushions of the couch. It was terrifying, to say the least, but all of her training and hard work over the years had led her here. Her dream was about to come true.

Monday, February 15, 2016

How Jade was going to get through this day without throwing up was beyond her. She was used to the grind, the hard work and the long matches to get the crowd on their feet. She could even handle the creative team shoving directions down her throat when all she wanted was to be herself. But having all of this on a much larger scale up in WWE was overwhelming, to say the least, and the ball of nerves in her stomach was going to get the best of her if she couldn't calm down. All week she had been putting in extra time training hoping it would help her conquer her fear.

"Alright, Jade. Try it again. We need to get this downpat for Monday." Sara was in the ring, one of the head trainers at the WWE Performance Center, and she had Jade running a series of drills in the ring.

"I feel comfortable." Jade lied through her teeth as she panted for breath. Sara was known to push everyone to their limits because, as she always said, practice makes perfect. But Jade had been practicing for almost two hours now, and Ariane, aka Cameron, was obviously exhausted from taking Sweet Chin Music and tornado DDTs over and over again. Sara demanded perfection, and Jade was doing her best to give that to her.

"One more time. I think Ariane needs a break after this." Sara suppressed a grin glancing over at the woman.

"You think?" Ariane groaned as she stood tall again. "All right, girl. You got this."

Jade took a deep breath and shook her hands out. The nerves of moving up to the main roster was making what should have been a routine refresher into a total nightmare. Never in her life did she ever have this much trouble making her dad's famous finisher look believable.

She took a few steps towards Cameron and lifted her leg high in the air. It contacted with her chin, just barely, and she slapped her thigh with force as she hit her. Ariane was dazed, her knees Jell-o below her as she stumbled a few steps back. Jade lunged towards the corner and jumped to the second rope. Without skipping a beat, she flew towards her target and grappled her head under her arm. Landing the Tornado DDT with force, Cameron's head slammed into the mat with conviction and Jade landed safely beside her.

"Awesome." Sara clapped a few times. "Much better. That's all for today."

"Thank god." Ariane rolled to the apron and out of the ring. She smirked back at Jade to show she truly wasn't upset about the whole ordeal but proceeded towards the change room before Sara could change her mind.

"Don't forget what we talked about. Your moves are fine, they always are. It's the rhythm. Don't lose it once you get out there in front of the crowd." Sara assured her as Jade stood slowly from the mat.

"I'm nervous." Jade finally confessed now that her co-worker was out of earshot.

"I know." Sara said quietly. "You'll do great, just like you did in NXT. Everyone knows who you are. It's no surprise to them that you'll be joining the main roster. Just stay focussed, and all will be fine." Sara slapped her on the shoulder with a grin and exited the ring down the stairs.

Jade tried to believe her. It was hard to think that this whole transition would be painless. Working for NXT was no walk in the park, of course, but it also involved her having a home base in Florida. She had an apartment, a routine during the week, and Full Sail Arena was a ten-minute drive from her place. If her father had taught her anything, it was that being in the WWE took over your life, and you would never have time for family, let alone anything else.

Jade got out of the ring. Her water bottle on the apron was soon in her hands, and she chugged it back as she glanced around the gym. A few people were working out, some hopefuls that she had never met before and Cass and Leah doing cardio together near the back wall. Then he walked in.

Fergal, or Finn as most people were calling him now, entered the gym from the change room. His blue eyes were trained on his phone as he sauntered towards the weight rack and popped headphones into his ears. Jade's heart skipped a beat seeing him, which somehow she had avoided for over a week, and she nervously grabbed her own phone to look preoccupied. Maybe if he didn't see her she wouldn't have to talk to him, but it would take some definite stealth.

Jade picked up her towel and water bottle again and went straight to the wall behind him. She walked quickly but quietly, her eyes staring at the back of his head as she tried to sneak past without him seeing. She breathed a sigh of relief steps away from the women's locker room door.

"Jade?"

God fucking damn it. She thought to herself.

"Oh, hey." She turned and pretended she was surprised to see him, which really wasn't that hard to fake, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I work here." He said shrugging. That stupid smile of his made Jade's stomach twist again, and his dumb accent that was for some reason so cute made her want to kick him in the teeth. Why did he have to be so charming?

"I know that. I just – well, I don't see you here often. We must be on different schedules." Jade tried to play it cool without making her anger towards him so obvious. There was a long story behind this guy.

"Must be." He said taking the other headphone out of his ear. "Hey, I hear you got called up to the main roster. Congrats."

"Thanks." Jade tried not to stare into his eyes, the ones that had made her fall in love so long ago, and instead took a nervous swig of her water bottle not sure what else to say.

"Bet your dad's proud." Finn smiled again.

"Oh yeah." Jade said with certainty snapping her bottle closed. "Thrilled. But hey, I've gotta get going. Have a good one." She forced a smile and nodded at him before entering the locker room leaving his stupid smiling mug behind her.

"Goodbye, Jade."

Goodbye, Jade. She repeated in her head, accentuating the way he said her name. How could he just act like everything was cool between them when it obviously wasn't? For almost a year they dated back when Jade was a rookie at NXT and before Finn became champion. He was a nice guy back then, always treating her right and being respectful of her putting wrestling before anything else in her life. But as soon as he got on his title run about to defeat Kevin Owens to become NXT Champ, he changed. He became distant to the point where she felt he was avoiding her after shows and not answering her texts or phone calls.

He came right out and broke up with her a few days before he won the title claiming that he 'needed more time to focus on himself,' that he 'wasn't emotionally stable enough for a relationship.' Jade believed him. She gave him space, as much as it broke her heart, and stepped back while her ex-boyfriend took over the scene and became the fans' favourite superstar. He climbed the ladder and stayed there, his reign as champ impressive.

Jade climbed the ladder too becoming Women's Champion as well, their reign simultaneous for a period of time, and she thought maybe that would bring them closer again. If anything, it pushed them farther apart. Jade became tired of waiting for him to make up his mind and swore him off for good. Then she heard a month ago he has a new girlfriend, a chick that lives here in Florida that isn't in the business, and it broke her fucking heart.

Now they were acquaintances, co-workers, someone that Jade avoided like the plague. Another perk to leaving NXT was leaving Finn, but she knew it would only be for a while. One day he would get called up to the main roster too, and she hoped by then she will have healed a bit more. It made her want to throw up whenever he was around.