Seth's alarm rang loud. He opened his eyes, stretching out his hand trying to find his phone lying beside him on the bedside table. He eventually turned it off, sliding out of bed and walking to the bathroom. He stopped to look back at Sasha, quietly sleeping in the bed. Seth quickly took a shower and prepared himself for his daily trip to the gym. He was hoping the workout would help Sasha get out whatever she was holding in.
Seth threw on some Black and Brave merch, opening the bathroom door, expecting to see a prepared Sasha. She always was ready by the time he finished. Instead, he found her still laying down.
He slowly walked over to her, leaning down and whispering, "Sash? Sash, you coming to the gym?" With no answer Seth gave up, figuring she could use the sleep. With that, he took off, breathing out as he closed the door. It'd be the first time in a while he'd been to the gym without her. Sure, the rest of the gang would be there, but without Sasha, it just wouldn't be the same. He had gotten used to her always being by his side.
Meanwhile, back in the room, as Sasha heard Seth leave she opened her eyes. She didn't feel good about pretending to be asleep, but after the PPV last night, and all the news broken to her, she didn't feel like going out one bit. She didn't even feel like going to RAW that night. Sasha got out of the bed, walking over to the hotel room's balcony. She slid the door open and stepped out, gazing out into the city. Maybe she'd go exploring. For so long she had worked and worked, maybe it was time to slow down and enjoy life for a little. She'd been wrestling for her whole life, it was all she'd ever known. Leaving the place she'd tried to get to for so long would hurt, but it was a thought that she couldn't shake from her mind.
She was glad Seth was where he was, but after Dean told her the truth, she didn't really want to be around him. It's not like he did it on purpose, but he had someone pull some strings for him, and Sasha didn't like the taste that left in her mouth.
...
Seth entered the gym, instantly spotting his workout group. Cesaro and Sheamus waved him down. Usually he'd workout with Sasha, doing everything together, but this would be like old times.
"Well, look at this fella," Sheamus said as he pointed out Seth to Cesaro. "Where's Sasha? She already get sick of ya?"
Sheamus and Cesaro snickered as Seth smirked. "She probably got sick of you," Seth retorted.
"Please, people, especially the ladies, never get sick of the Bar," Cesaro spoke, he and Sheamus posing for Rollins.
"Don't be too sure about that," Seth said as they all chuckled. "So what do you have planned today?" Seth asked, changing the subject.
"Sorry, Fella, but we were here early and are just finishing up."
"Really?"
"Yeah, we wanted to max out as far off of RAW as we could."
"Yeah, I just slept in I guess."
"You could use the beauty sleep, especially if you're suppose to be the face of the company," Cesaro joked as he patted Seth on the back, walking off with Sheamus towards the locker room.
Seth turned and watched as they went off. Here he was, again left by himself. It was starting to feel like maybe it wasn't his week. Things were off with Sasha and he couldn't quite put his finger on it, and that was translating to everything else.
"I am shocked," Seth heard from behind, "the Universal Champ is all by his lonesome. Maybe The Man can help ya out," the Lasskicker spoke. Seth turned around, a wide smiled, red haired Becky Lynch standing there before him. "Where's your better half?" She asked.
"What?" Seth replied.
"Sasha?" Becky reminded him.
"Oh, Sasha? She's sleeping in, I guess."
"Well, it's usually I just see you two in here, so engulfed in each other..."
Seth felt a little bad. He and Becky, along with Cesaro and Sheamus, would always have competitions between each other to see who could perform the best. He had gotten so caught up with Sasha, he had kind of turned away from doing that.
"Sorry about that," Seth spoke, offering an apologetic smile to Becky. She smiled back, her face shining bright, causing Seth to grin widely.
"Whatcha sorry for?" Becky slapped Seth playfully on the arm. "The only thing you should be sorry for is if you lost a step. Think you can still hang with The Man?" Becky asked, folding her arms and leaning back.
"Listen here, 'Becky 2 Belts', you must have forgotten who you're talking to. I'm the original Man, and if anything, you'll have to hang with me, the Universal Champion."
"That Universal title might as well be a participation trophy."
...
Sasha stared at the large buildings before her. Her hoodie and hat doing their best to conceal her identity as she walked the crowded streets. The skyscrapers reaching high and tall, Sasha was left breathless. It wasn't like she had never seen them before, but it had been so long since she was able to take them in the way she was now. They reminded her of home. Of Boston.
How Sasha missed Boston so much. She loved thinking about it. The places she used to visit, the sights she used to take in. She only wished the memory of her loss at the last WWE PPV in Boston wasn't apart of that either.
Sasha pushed those thoughts to the back of her head as she continued down the street. She continued to look at her surroundings. The cars driving quickly, the people rushing by. She wondered where they were going and what they were doing. She hoped none of them were stuck at a dead end like her.
Sasha found her way to a nearby park, sitting down at the bench. Seth was probably at some gym working and pushing himself as hard as he could go. He'd probably have some promo tonight, start a new feud, and who knows what. As for her? Well, it seemed no one in creative cared. Sasha looked up, taking in the fresh air. She had spent so long pushing and pushing, thinking hard work got you places. She felt like a fool. Thinking what her and Seth were doing was changing things. In fact, only really Seth was doing something.
She was just the sidekick. She was along for the ride. Everything Dean had said was sinking in. She cared about Seth, she really did, but if she wanted to make something for herself, maybe it was time to really take matters into her own hands.
Sasha stood up from the bench, prepared to head back to the hotel and plot her next moves. She was tired of waiting around. The Boss was tired of it all.
...
Seth and Becky breathed heavily as they checked their phones, completing analysis of their workout, trying to determine who worked harder and faster.
"Maximum heart rate of 184, beat that Rollins!" Becky taunted as she held her phone out for Seth to see.
"That is impressive," Seth paused, a look of defeat on his face, only to quickly be replaced by one of victory, "but it looks like maybe they should give me two belts," Seth snickered as he turned his phone to show Becky his 195 maximum heart rate.
Becky threw her arms up in the air as Seth continued to snicker. "Obviously ya figured out a way to fudge the numbers."
"Oh right, just keep telling yourself that," Seth said as he sarcastically patted Becky on the back sympathetically. Becky lifted her chin, putting on a tough grin before bursting out into laughter, Seth joining her.
"It's sure glad to have you back, Rollins," Becky said between the chuckles escaping her mouth.
"What do you mean?" Seth asked as he calmed himself down.
Becky looked at Seth, wondering if she should continue, already wondering if she probed too far. "I really shouldn't."
Seth shook his head, wondering where Becky planned to go with her statement. "Come on, Lynch, don't hold out on me."
"It's just," Becky sighed, "usually when you come here with Sasha you just go through the motions and don't even bother to come say hi to any of the old 'gang'. We had so much fun. We made each other better. It's not the same without ya." Becky paused. "I miss you," Becky's face turned red as the last of her words escaped her mouth. "I-I mean the guys m-miss you too."
Seth nodded and chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Becky, pulling her in to a tight hug.
"I appreciate the hug," Becky started, "but how about you give it after ya hit the showers." Seth lowered his head and laughed to himself, stepping away from Becky to find her jokingly plugging her nose. "Well, go on, get!" She said as Seth stepped away, his hands up
"I'm going, I'm going. Geez, when did The Man get so demanding?"
...
Later that night, RAW was nearing its start. Sasha roamed the hallways, looking for someone to talk too. All she needed was a moment, an opportunity to capitalize on. Just like Seth, she was ready to take things in her own hands and had her plan to do so.
Running around the back she saw Seth. She expected to see him talking with Dean, who's finals days were nearing, his last being at the end of the week, or maybe Roman. Instead, there he stood in the hallway, across from fellow champion Becky Lynch. Laughing and smiling, Sasha didn't think too much of it, but didn't like the feeling it gave her deep down. Seth was sweet, honest, and caring. A good friend to all. He and Becky had a lot in common. Sasha brushed it off as friends talking.
Sasha continued to search, high and low. That's when she bumped into someone she hadn't expected, someone named Dean Ambrose. "Let me guess," he began, taking note of the hurry in Sasha's eyes. "You're trying to get a match tonight, aren't you?"
Sasha couldn't believe how on target Dean was. It was like he understood everything. "Well I..." Sasha began.
"No, I understand. You're going to try and pull the same move Rollins did. Force their hand."
"How did you know?"
"Sasha, you act like I'm new here." Dean paused, swallowing hard. "Like I don't understand how you feel. I was WWE Champion. A reign I bet not a single person remembers."
"Don't be like that, Dean," Sasha tried to lift Dean's spirits. She could see the frustration within him grow.
"No offense to Seth," Dean went on, "but I'm not the golden boy. I'm just a guy who wrestles in a shirt and jeans. Just a crazy lunatic willing to do anything to get people talking. I thought about all the same things. I thought about playing my own cards before Seth even did."
"Why didn't you?" Sasha asked, curious of how everything started to unfold for Ambrose.
"Same reason you won't," Dean paused, Sasha raising an eyebrow. How would Dean even know she wouldn't get a match? "Because they know what you're going to do, and don't want you to do it."
"What do you suggest I do, huh? Give up?" Sasha asked, the realization of a dying dream eating her inside.
"I suggest you wake up." Sasha stared blankly at Dean. "There is no changing this, there is no fixing this. Vince McMahon is god, and we're just minions."
"You're wrong, Dean. You might be right in those other things, but you're wrong on this. We can change this place."
"I hate to burst your bubble, Sasha, but you're wrong. What about CM Punk? He was on a mission to change this place, how'd that work for him?"
"That's just one guy."
"For every one of you or me, there's four more kiss asses ready to take your spot. No offense to Baron Corbin, but is he as good as a wrestler as Finn Bálor? Sami Zayn? Kevin Owens? Yet he gets wins and TV time."
Sasha was at a loss for words. It seemed as if 7 years of pain and suffering poured out of Dean Ambrose. "This place though," Sasha spoke, her words broken like her. "This was what we all worked for."
Dean bowed his head to Sasha. "Welcome to hell." And with that, the all of a sudden Wise Dean Ambrose was again gone, not just from that moment, but also soon from the company forever.
Sasha watched as he walked off. Dean might be crazy, but he was right. She was a lamb to the slaughter. She swallowed her pride and then completely understood. Sasha Banks and WWE were no more. They couldn't be.
...
The show went on fine, Sasha didn't even bothering to trying get a match. By the time it was all said and done, she had one too many things running through her head. Not only her future and the current state of the WWE, but for some reason Seth and Becky kept replaying in her head. She wasn't exactly the girlfriend of the year. She hadn't even spoken once to Rollins or seen him since last night. She wanted to go up to him, talk, tell him what was on her mind, the things eating her up. But she couldn't. She didn't want to put more on his shoulders. He was busy enough.
She wanted to at least talk to him. She didn't want him to think she was mad at him or something. Sure, she felt lied to, but Seth didn't know, and if he even found out he'd be heart broken.
Sasha was angry at different things, and didn't want to take them out at Seth. He had always been in her corner. Always wanting her to win and succeed. To complete her goal.
Sasha watched his segment, Seth going on about defending the title each and every chance he got. How he'd take on the next challenger, come one, come all, blah blah blah. Sasha wished she was the one giving the generic promo, but none the less, she was happy for him. Happy to see that smile on his face. The one she used to see all the time back in the early days of his time on the main roster.
She went to the curtain, hoping to greet him as soon as he got through, hoping they could chat. As much as she enjoyed her alone time, she was ready for The Man.
However, once Sasha got there, she couldn't help but spot The Man, but not the one she was looking for. Becky Lynch smiled and hugged Rollins as he walked back to the producers area. Sasha watched as they joked and laughed.
Seth and Becky walked up to her, Sasha trying to stay as cool as possible. A lot of things had been shoved on her plate, and this was one she wasn't ready for. "Hey Sash!" Seth exclaimed as he and Becky reached her.
"How ya been, Sasha?" Becky asked, standing a little closer to Seth than Sasha would have liked.
"Good, not doing as much as I would like."
"Yeah, I know, I'd love to square up in the ring with ya, put one of these on the line," Becky motioned to the RAW and SmackDown Woman's championships resting on her shoulder.
Sasha faked a smile and nodded to Becky before turning her attention back to Seth who was still locked on Becky. "Hey, Seth!" Sasha called, snapping Seth's gaze to her.
"Yeah?"
"You ready to go?" Sasha asked, glaring as Becky who suddenly began to feel the tension between the three.
"I think I'm gonna head off, see ya later Seth." Becky smiled at Seth as she walked off.
Once Becky was out of sight, Seth and Sasha began walking to the locker room. Seth wanted to say something but couldn't think of the right words to say. He could still sense something off with Sasha, but wasn't sure what. Not a word was spoken as they each grabbed their stuff, put it in the car, and began driving to the next hotel.
During the drive, each one would occasionally steal a glance at the other, but neither would speak. Finally Seth broke the silence. "Is everything okay?"
Sasha continued to look out the window.
"Is this about Becky or something?"
Sasha looked up at the sky, taking in the bright stars in the clear night.
"Listen Sasha, are you just gonna ignore me the whole time, because maybe we shouldn't ride together if you are."
Sasha's eyes were then transfixed on the moon. How it lit the sky. The way it felt like an old friend on a gloomy day. It helped her relax. She missed home.
"Please, Sash, give me something."
Sasha turned to Seth, who was doing his best to balance his attention between the road and her. After a moment, Sasha finally opened her mouth.
"I'm done with WWE. I'm leaving."