Rolling With the Punches
Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I still don't own anyone other than my OCs, as well as my intellectual property (Ha! I'm intellectual!). Everyone else owns themselves…or Vince McMahon owns them…that's probably more accurate.

A/N: Thank you to my love DenyingTheTruth for her review :) Hope you guys like this. Let me know. It'll get better once the action starts in...which is now...or at least I think so. Love you guys! XoXoXo

Dallas and Saraya stood near the gorilla position, their match only minutes away. The shorter woman wore a pair of short black denim shorts, along with a fitted white tank top and a pair of black and white low top Converse sneakers. Her semi-colorful hair was down with the ends in soft curls. Her makeup was fairly simple and flawless, with some black eyeliner, some foundation, mascara, and lip gloss. She was ready to go out there and make her official debut. She was hopping up and down, overwhelmed with excitement.
"I don't think I've ever been so excited for a match in my entire life," Saraya commented.
"Me neither."
The black-and-blue haired beauty began hopping up and down, as Dallas had been doing. A backstage technician walked over. "It's your cue, Paige," he said.
"Okay." She quickly pulled her friend in for a hug. "Love you, crazy bitch."
"Love you, my little psychopath."
Saraya headed out, as her entrance music began blaring throughout the arena. Dallas watched her friend deliver her killer promo on the closed circuit television. She was pumped for this moment. She had been close with Saraya since they'd met. It didn't matter how far apart they were, the two were always in touch. She loved her like a sister and was all-too happy to be able to share this milestone in her career with her.
"So, please, if any of you back there think you actually pose a threat to me and my journey to reclaiming the Diva's Championship, if any of you back there actually believe that you're on my level, please, I dare you to come out here and bring your best. Because I've got something to prove, and it is that I'm going to be the longest reigning Diva's Champion when I take that title off of Nikki Bella," Paige challenged.
There was silence for a few moments, allowing Paige's face to settle in a satisfied smirk. That is until the Transplants' "Romper Stomper" rang out through the venue causing the well-versed members of the WWE Universe to cheer for the woman.
Dallas took a deep breath and walked out. The WWE Universe cheered even louder upon seeing the popular independent wrestler. She had a cocky grin on her face, while she made her way down the ramp, eyes focused on her opponent. Dallas dove underneath the bottom rope. She stood up and walked over to Paige, getting in the woman's face. She snatched the microphone right out of the former champion's hand.
"Hey dollface, you think you're so good? How about you put your money where your mouth is and try playing with the big girls?" Dallas sneered.
"Big girls? You're tiny. You're like a little puppy. Who the hell are you kidding?" the raven-haired Diva retorted, having grabbed the microphone back.
Dallas smirked. "Scared, Paige?" she shot.
"Absolutely not. Let's go," the two-time Diva's Champion accepted the challenge.
Dallas smiled, as Paige dropped the microphone. The bell rang, signaling that the match was to begin. The two women almost immediately locked up. Dallas quickly pushed Paige off of her, flinging her into the ropes. As she came flying back towards her, the shorter woman lunged at her, spearing Paige to the mat. Dallas began throwing punches at her opponent's head.
Paige turned them around, and she began landing punches to Dallas's head. She managed to push the raven-haired Diva off of her. The two jumped to their feet. Dallas smirked at Paige. She bent over, placing her hands on her knees. She stood upright and launched herself at Paige, knocking her opponent into the ring post. Dallas ran into the opposite corner. She, then, ran at her opponent, launching her body into a flip, before knocking right into her. Paige was knocked down in the corner, her body limp.

Kevin Steen was hanging out in the catering area, relaxing after his match. He was pretty satisfied with the match he had against Neville. He'd come out victorious. Those were Kevin's favorite matches…the ones he won. Unless of course, it was a legitimately great match. Then, he was more than okay with taking the loss.
"Dude, do you see who's out there?" Rami Sebei, otherwise known to the public as Sami Zayn, asked, sitting across from his longtime best friend.
"Who?" he asked, though it was clear from his tone that he didn't particularly care.
"You have to see this…"
Kevin rolled his eyes. "Man, I'm relaxing."
"No, you really have to see this," Rami insisted. The serious expression on his face prompted the larger man to relent.
Kevin groaned, as he stood up and followed his friend to the closed circuit television, where there were a handful of Superstars and Divas watching the action. At first glance, Kevin saw it was a Diva's match. He shrugged. "Who gives a fuck?" he breathed. But someone in the ring caught his eye. It wasn't one of the regulars. This was someone he hadn't seen on Monday Night Raw before…but someone he had seen plenty of other places. "What the—" he breathed, cutting himself off, as he was in shock.
Kevin was pretty sure his heart had stopped beating at that moment. He recognized this woman all too well, and he was not happy to see her, especially here. He turned to his best friend. "What the hell is she doing here?"
"I don't know. I had no idea that she was gonna be here," Rami replied.
"Dude, did you see Dallas?" Colby Lopez questioned, as he walked over to one of the newer additions to the WWE roster.
Kevin glared at the Superstar known as Seth Rollins. "Yes. I just saw her," he replied, clearly unamused.
"What the fuck is that all about?"
"I have no idea," Kevin replied, clearly becoming more annoyed with the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
"She looks great, huh?"
"Who looks great?" Claudio asked, walking over.
"Dallas," Colby answered.
"She really does. It's great having her around again."
"Yeah. About that…" Kevin breathed.
"Listen, just because you broke up with her doesn't mean that the rest of us don't want to see her again," the Swiss Superstar shot back.
"Just because you wanted to fuck her while I was dating her doesn't make you a noble guy, Claudio."
"Just because you can't handle having a beautiful girlfriend who has male friends doesn't mean that I was trying to sleep with her. It means you're an insecure slob."
"Okay. Okay. You two need to turn it down a few notches," Colby spoke, stepping in between the two men who looked as if they were ready to brawl, consequences be damned.
"Well, maybe this dickhead needs to keep his mouth shut," Kevin spewed, his eyes reflecting a furious fire.
"Maybe you shouldn't have been such an asshole to Dallas, and we wouldn't be having this issue right now," Claudio retorted.
"Hey, I thought the Swiss were neutral," Colby tried joking to ease the quickly rising tensions, though his joke had fallen on deaf ears…aside from Rami's. He chuckled at the comment, but the glare he received from his best friend caused him to stop immediately.
"Alright. Alright. I get it. You both have some unresolved issues with the whole Dallas situation. But you two fighting about it won't resolve anything," Rami spoke up, joining Colby, as he also stood between the two men.
Kevin and Claudio continued to glare at each other, the hostility between the two men evident to anyone who walked passed them. "Guys, come on. How about we all just calm down, and we can watch the match…or not watch the match…whatever floats your boat," Colby said, desperately trying to lessen the chances of a brawl breaking out between the two.
Claudio was the first to back down, not in the mood to deal with his friend's ex-boyfriend any longer. He had said what he needed to and made his point crystal clear. Besides, he wanted to watch her match. Kevin, on the other hand, stormed into his locker room, slamming the door shut behind himself. He sat on one of the benches, his head in his hands.
The door opened mere moments later, and Rami walked in, shutting the door behind him. He sat next to Kevin and put a supportive hand on his friend's back.
"You okay, man?" he asked.
"Do I look okay?" he snapped. Kevin paused and let out a deep breath. "What the fuck, man? Seriously?"
"I know. I had no idea she was coming here. Hell, I didn't even know that she was training in NXT until Colby told me…just now."
"I can't fucking deal with her," he breathed.
"Maybe you won't have to. I mean, it isn't like you guys ended on decent terms. She probably doesn't want to see you anyway."
"When have you known Dallas to avoid trouble?"
"True."
"I'm so fucked man," Kevin groaned.
"You'll be fine."
"I'm married. I have a kid. My life is finally normal again. I can't deal with having her here. Not now."
"I mean, to be honest, you completely broke her heart, Kev. I'm not completely sold on the idea that she would even want to know that you still exist, much less actually interact with you. She might want to cause some aggravation for you, but I dunno about her wanting to spend that much time around you."
"Yeah, but you never really know with her. The woman is unpredictable. You know that just as well as I do."
"That's true."
"I just have to avoid her…"
"You say that like it's so easy," Rami said. "We'll figure this out."
Kevin thought for a moment. "Maybe I can get this taken care of," he said, standing up. "I'll be right back. I have to go talk to someone." With that he left a confused Rami and headed to see the one person who might be able to help him out.

"What the hell are you two doing?" the referee scolded both Dallas and Paige, under his breath so that only the two women could hear him. Paige had Dallas locked in the PTO, while the clock had run out on their match a couple of minutes ago.
"Oh shut up," Paige shot back.
Dallas skillfully managed to grab onto the ropes, forcing her opponent to break the hold. The referee pulled Paige away from the recovering newcomer. Dallas held onto the ropes, using them to help her get to her feet. As Paige charged over to her again, Dallas kicked her in the face causing the self-proclaimed Anti-Diva to fall to the mat. The crowd was loud and chanting 'This is Awesome!' animatedly.
The re-energized Diva walked over to the other side of the ring, waiting for Paige to sit up. When she did so, the brunette ran across the ring and performed her finisher, a variation of the Shining Wizard, before quickly pinning her.
Dallas got the three-count, and the WWE Universe went absolutely wild for the newest Diva. Dallas climbed onto the top rope, raising an arm in the air, before hopping back down. She signaled for a microphone, which she was handed.
Standing over Paige's limp body, a smile crossed Dallas's lips. "And that, my friend, is how it's done," she said breathlessly, before dropping the microphone onto her opponent's body and rolling out of the ring. She headed up the ramp, eyes still on Paige, who was slowly getting up with the aid of the referee. The wicked smile on Dallas's face was captured by the cameras, before she disappeared into the back.
As soon as Dallas made it passed the gorilla position, she wasn't at all surprised to find a clearly angry Stephanie and Paul, their arms folded over their chests.
"What the hell was that?!" Stephanie barked.
"That was freakin' awesome! And the people really seemed to like it, too," she nonchalantly replied.
"You had ten minutes. Not fifteen. That puts us behind. We have another match to go, and you cut away from their time."
Dallas raised an eyebrow. "My apologies. I hope they can make the most of their twenty-five minutes, now that they won't have a full thirty," she quipped.
"Excuse me?" Stephanie questioned. Dallas could practically see the steam coming out of her ears. She clearly wasn't used to someone not backing down. And Dallas was one who never backed down. Hence her troubles with the trainers in NXT.
"The Divas Revolution is in full swing now," she commented with a bubblegum smile.
Paige walked into the back, and Stephanie's eyes immediately darted over to her. "Dallas, Paige, my office. Now," Stephanie demanded.
"Uh oh," Dallas muttered, as the two followed the big boss's daughter into her makeshift office in the arena.
Once inside, both Dallas and Paige sat down, while Stephanie took a seat at her desk. "Where the hell do the two of you get off pulling a stunt like that?" she snarled.
"What do you mean?" Dallas questioned, feigning an innocent look.
Stephanie narrowed her eyes at the newcomer. "Don't you dare start playing games with me, Dallas. You know exactly what I'm talking about."
The younger brunette tried her hardest not to laugh in her boss's face. "Listen, I know you're mad, and I understand why. But look at the bright side, your coveted Diva's Revolution got a nice bump tonight. Everyone out there was going crazy for us," Dallas tried to defend herself and Paige against the pissed off woman sitting in front of them.
"But giving your match extra time is not your call to make. That's my call. And Saraya, you know a hell of a lot better than to do something like this."
"This isn't her fault at all, Stephanie. This was completely my idea. It was all me. I thought that we deserved some extra time, so I decided that it would be perfectly okay if I made sure that we got it," Dallas quickly confessed, not wanting Saraya to get into any trouble for what she had conspired to do in the first place.
"You haven't even been here for a whole day. What makes you think that you can just do that because you feel like it?" Stephanie incredulously questioned.
"I dunno. What makes you think that the WWE Universe wants to see Sheamus vs. Randy Orton for the three-hundredth and ninety-second time? All questions with answers that have alluded us here tonight," she replied with a shrug.
"You really need to watch your attitude, Dallas. You don't want to get fired on your first night here," Stephanie warned her.
Dallas rolled her eyes, as Saraya decided to step in and put this runaway train to a halt. She didn't want to have to say goodbye to her friend after only just having her on the roster with her. And quite frankly, Dallas was digging herself quite a hole. "Stephanie, I'm sorry. I know a lot better than this, and I still went along with it anyway. But I can promise you that it will never happen again," she quickly apologized.
"It better not," Stephanie shot.
"It won't," Saraya reiterated.
"Thank you." There was a silence between the three, before Stephanie finally spoke again. "Saraya, can you please give me a few minutes with Dallas? I have another issue that I need to deal with, and it involves her."
"Um…okay," Saraya hesitantly replied, before getting up and walking out of the office, closing the door behind herself. Dallas was a little confused as to what else Stephanie needed to talk to her about. Quite frankly, the only trouble she had caused what the whole match time thing. She hadn't even had enough time to do anything else that would warrant a conversation with Stephanie McMahon, not that she thought it would have taken her much longer to get into some more trouble, but still. She'd been otherwise well-behaved.
"So, Dallas, if it wasn't bad enough that you're here for your first night on the main roster, and you're already taking liberties that you have no right to take, would you care to explain to me why I'm already getting complaints about you making Superstars feel uncomfortable?" Stephanie questioned, folding her hands together on top of the desk.
"What are you talking about? No one should be complaining about me yet. I've barely seen anyone here. I saw some of the Divas and Claudio, and I doubt any of them would be complaining about me," she replied, completely flabbergasted.
"Are you sure about that? Because there's someone else who felt it was necessary to come to me about you being here."
"I'm positive." Dallas thought for a moment. "Is this about Kevin?" she finally asked, feeling frustration flowing through her veins.
"So you do know what I'm talking about."
"Motherf—. Well, I haven't seen or spoke to that son of a bitch in like two years, but I figured that he might be pretty pissed off to see me here," Dallas admitted with a groan. "Stephanie, I swear, I haven't even seen him since I've been here. And if I did, I have absolutely nothing that I need to or want to say to him anyway."
The WWE's Chief Brand Officer raised a curious eyebrow. "Did something happen between you two, or…?"
Dallas rolled her eyes. "I dated that stupid asshole," she told her. "And I'm not really sure exactly why he would want to start making my life more difficult. I never did anything to him. He's the one who's the dickhead."
"Care to explain?"
"Not really."
"Dallas…"
"Fine. I dated that piece of shit for five years, until I found out that he was cheating on me and knocked that chick up. Hence the wife and kid he has now," Dallas explained, her tone quickly becoming angrier with each word that left her lips.
"Oh…well, then…okay. I'll take your word that you haven't interacted with him," Stephanie spoke, realizing she'd stepped into some serious territory that she did not want to be a part of. "Listen, Dallas," she breathed. "I know you mean well, and I know that you really do care about the Diva's division, but don't go around giving yourself more time and things like that. Okay? If you need something, ask. Don't take. I'm sure we can work things out to make sure we're all happy, from now on."
"Understood."
So ensued Stephanie's lecture that Dallas decided was probably the least of what could have happened to her for taking the extra time, so she sat there listening to what her boss had to say.