Sami would be lying if he didn't admit to being a bit jealous of his friend Kevin Owens.

Kevin, much like Sami, has worked very hard to be where they're at. But along the way Kevin managed to secure an awesome girlfriend who then turned into a wife. She's the love of his life and they have two great children together.

You would think the jealousy would be about Kevin being in the main roster part time, probably moving to full time very soon. And while Sami does want the same thing he's not jealous, per se. Its something he's going to work hard to do and hopefully one day he'll be able to travel the same roads as the great wrestlers do.

But no, instead Sami's jealousy lies in having such a tight-knit family. Kevin has a wife and two kids waiting for him when he comes home. He knows theres heartache to go along with it. Being away from them is very hard for his best friend, but its something he can count on. Sami doesn't have that. He has Pickles who, while a lovely dog, can't exactly sit at a dinner table with him and partake in eating mahshi with him.

He's always put wrestling first. Making a name for himself has been his goal. Now that Sami Zayn is a well known name he wants to be able to share himself with someone. He hadn't really paid much attention to it until yesterday. It was something he never thought himself getting, if hes completely honest. After all, even when he wrestled as El Generico, women didn't usually flock to him. He's always been outgoing and was blessed with the gift of gab but women wouldn't stick around for long.

Sami wishes he could go back to being unaware of how empty his apartment actually feels.

/

After a nice day off of doing almost nothing - usual morning jog, breakfast, take Pickle's out for a walk, watch some movies, lunch, etc - he's actually looking forward to physical therapy the following day. It gives him something to do other than lounge around. He doesn't feel like going out and doing much (that could be just the sadness talking) so its a reprieve to be scheduled to do something.

Therapy 3 times a week is what he's scheduled for. As he gets ready for his session he makes sure to put on extra deodorant. He doesn't want Anika to think its a habit of his to leave his home smelling like a sweaty oddball.

His goal is to act normal. As normal as a man who used to dress up as a generic luchador and dance around can get, anyways.

When he gets to the performance center he actually notices Anika out in the parking lot. She's wearing pig tails today, making her look more youthful and making the 30 year old feel more like a weirdo for thinking its cute. He tells himself to just head inside. No need to talk to her now. Except as he gets closer he notices she's holding her glasses in one hand and wiping her eyes with the other.

Whether or not he finds a woman attractive has no bearing on how soft-hearted Sami Zayn is. If someone is upset or crying he's usually the first one to react with a gentle hug.

He crosses the parking lot, sort of hesitant in his steps. "Hey, Anika?"

Anika lets out a little gasp accompanied with a jump. She turns around and gives a nervous laugh when she sees Sami. "Oh gosh, sorry."

"Sorry for what? If standing in a parking lot is an offense I'm a felon because I've done that a lot in my time waiting for buses." He tries to catch her eyes but she's deliberately not looking up at him. The ground, the tree to their right, his injured shoulder. "No offense will be taken but if my face isn't something you don't like to look at. I can go dig up an old Generico mask for me to wear."

This actually gets a laugh out of her. She puts her glasses back on her face and says, "I just don't like eye contact sometimes. Your face is quite appealing, I assure you."

Sami smiles widely despite himself. "So I do have to ask, you okay? Anything I can do?"

Anika seems to hesitate, looking at him as though she's trying to judge if he actually means it or if he's only being nice. After a few seconds she says, "My cat disappeared last night. I think she got out a window or something, I don't know. I didn't see anything open but I don't know how she got out. I just-I know its only an animal but she is my best friend and she hasn't shown back up and-" She stops herself, new tears forming in her eyes which she's quick to brush away.

His heart breaks for her. "I have a dog so I know what you mean. They're not 'just animals' to a lot of people. Have you thought of putting up missing signs?"

"I'm going to after work today," She replies.

Even though he had told himself not to jump so quickly into things the first thing out of Sami's mouth is, "I could come and help you put them up. We could cover more ground quicker with two of us."

Her gratitude is immediate in the change of her face. "That would be great Sami. I would appreciate it so much. When we have our session I'll get your number so I can text you later when I have them."

With a smile and a nod he heads into the building, immediately coming across Sasha who is very excited to show him the new ring attire she's wearing.

"Looks great! Baby blue is a good color on you."

"I didn't know how it would look until I tried it on. I thought baby blue might send the wrong message since its such a soft color. The Boss can't be soft," Sasha comments with a smirk.

"I'm terrified of your authority no matter what color you're wearing. I assume the only reason you haven't pinned me where we stand is because of my shoulder, so thanks for that."

"If only matches were ever that easy."

Sami raises a hand in defeat. "If we ever have an intergender match I promise to lie down in the middle of the ring and accept defeat, Boss."

Sasha crosses her arms and looks him up and down. The red head give her a curious look. "I thought you looked more cheerful. I guess Bayley is right."

"Oh crap. What did she say to you?"

"Only that you have a tiny crush and seem happier for it. Didn't say who. I'd suspect it's me but thats really the case for everyone, isn't it?" She says, flipping her hair over her shoulder with a laugh.

"I'm going to make my escape before I can give you more gosspi to talk with Bayley about."

"Don't be a grump, Sami! I think its about time," the woman says as he walks away.

/

At the end of the therapy session his shoulder aches. Its still becoming used to not being in a sling twenty-four-seven. Add in all of the extra movement and it makes for one very unhappy body part. Even with such discomfort to deal with, Anika makes him smile with a joke here or a tease.

"Atleast you're wearing deoderant today," she remarked, taking a seat next to him. He notices she's more relaxed than the previous day, even with the news of her pet missing. Her body is angled towards him which is another good sign.

"I thought about cologne but I don't want to smell like Cassidy."

"I think he smells nice."

"For bathing in cologne, sure, but I'm not much of a cologne guy anyways."

"So what kind of guy are you?"

Sami wants to take this as a flirtatious question but her eyes seem to hold more of a genuine curiosity. He almost forgot she introduced herself as a fan of his work.

"I usually like to keep an air of mystery around me. I hang out in corners of rooms, cemetaries, outside of abandoned warehouses. I take all of my pictures in black and white to keep up that mysterious appearance."

"Mmhmm." Anika has an entertained look on her face. "I've seen you talk to everyone here. Everyone likes you, Sami. Even if you've been gone for two months people are happy to have you back in the building. I've only been here a couple weeks and I can see it."

The wrestlers face softens, enjoying hearing such a comforting thing from someone who has no real motive to say it other than she believes its true. Bayley tells him the same thing because she's one of his best friends. Enzo, Sasha, and Kevin have also said something along those lines. But as his friends Sami has to take it as part of them comforting him. Anika doesn't really know him, she has no reason to tell him comforting fiction.

"Thanks for that. Really. Its kind of been . . . a thing for me, wondering if I'll be forgotten." Sami looks down at his lap, not wanting to look her in the eyes as he adds, "Hopefully it isn't the case with the fans either. If someone stays out of the public eye too long they might fall between the cracks. Thats why I'm trying to do everything I can to get back in the ring."

"And you will. Theres no reason you can't in six months."

Too long is the first thing which crosses his mind. So, so long."Almost seems like forever. What if I get really fat?"

The young woman laughs. "I think you're one of those perpetually skinny people. Even when you put on a bit of weight you'd probably be what they call 'skinny fat'."

"Well I've eaten enough nutella in the last two months to reach such a status," he surmises.

Anika looks at her watch and then digs her phone out from her back pocket. From a quick glance he notices she has several missed calls - seven in total - and all of them seem to be from the same number. An emotion flickers across her face too fast for him to make a guess as to what it really was (Confusion maybe? or was that panic?) but she swipes them away quickly, apparently choosing to ignore them.

"Give me your number before you go. And don't forget to do your stretches tonight too. You didn't do them yesterday, did you?" Her voice is playful but also somehwat reprimanding. She hands him her phone for him to program his number in.

"No ma'am. Was too busy staring off into the distance while in a cemetary." He hands her the phone back, trying to hide his goofy smile.

"No matter how many times you try to convince me you're a loner I have proof otherwise."

Sami quirks an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

"You got me talking to you. Been too anxious to talk to anyone and here you come with your jokes and extremely likeable personality. How dare you, Sami."

"I'll tone down the likeable bit as much as I can but its just so hard, what with all of the kitten saving I do. Not to mention volunteering to spend time with seniors and planting trees in my spare time-"

Anika does her best not to roll her eyes. She gives him a genuine smile and its something that makes his heart swell. He's not trying to supress his budding crush any more. Not when she smiles at him like that.

/

"Okay Pickles just practice with me here." Sami takes a deep breath and says, "Hey Anika! Me, Bayley and a couple of others are going to go to a karaoke bar this Sunday. Are you in?"

Pickles lies down on his side, still staring up at his ginger human who is contemplating if he really wants to try this. After all what they're doing is going to be emotional for Anika. She just lost a very dear animal who she doesn't know is alive or not. Perhaps asking her out for a (not)date isn't the best thing.

"Break character buddy, you're not Anika any more. What do you think? Do I ask? I mean, she could probably use time to take her mind off of things. I don't-" Sami stops and facepalms. "Ugh, look at me acting like I'm still in junior high. I'm thirty years old. I know its been a while since I've been in the dating scene but I'm-"

He hears a familiar ringtone coming from his pocket. Kevin.

6:04 PM: Heard you got a crush on a schoolgirl.

Sami grinds his teeth. Damn it Bayley.

6:05 PM: She's not a schoolgirl. She's atleast 20.

Sometimes, when Kevin wants to be especially annoying, he sends several texts at a time even when he could send one long text. This is one of those times.

6:06 PM: 20 you say? Thats practically an adult.

6:08 PM: Be sure to ask her parents if she can be out past 10. Angry dads are no fun.

6:09 PM: Will she spoon feed you?

Sami texts back Ha ha ha.

"Pickles, make a note to give Bayley a noogie of her lifetime once my shoulder heals up."

His ears perk up at his name and Sami can't resist kneeling down to give him a belly rub. With a sigh he gets back up to go fix himself something for dinner when theres a generic ring tone, signaling a phone number is texting him he doesn't know.

6:13 PM: Hey Sami its Anika. Are you available to come over?

6:14 PM: Yeah sure. Whats your address?

After she quickly texts it back he gathers his wallet and car keys. "Wish me luck, boy."

/

When he pulls into the driveway she's sitting on her deck reading a book. She looks up, excited, and wastes no time coming up to his drivers window with a stack of papers sticking out of her novel.

"Thanks again for this, Sami. I really appreciate it." The black haired girl steps back so he can exit his vehicle. "I didn't know if you've eaten yet so I have something to confess: I stuck some lasagna in the oven and its done. I thought you might want some energy first."

"That sounds great! I haven't eaten, I usually eat dinner around eight or nine even though I know I shouldn't wait so long. Is it made from scratch?" Sami questions as he follows her into the home. It's a nice, small house, with a mint green paint job and an off white door. "And do you own this place? Its so . . . quaint."

"Sure is made from scatch. My mom taught me when I was a kid. And no, I rent it."

He looks around her place. Its nice and tidy, for the most part, with a few t-shirts flung across the couch and a couple books on the floor. There are posters of several movies but what catches his eye is a poster of Wrestlemania 22 hanging in her kitchen.

"Why 22?" He asks, taking a seat at the small table when Anika gestures to it.

"Hm? Oh." Anika pulls the lasagna out of the oven and it smells absolutely wonderful. And it looks heavy on the cheese which is something Sami is all about. "Mick Foley versus Edge. It was the first Wrestlemania I went to and I was blown away."

"I can tell you like Mick Foley."

"He's my favorite wrestler of all time."

"Well he is the best looking out of all of us, really."

"I don't know. El Generico could give him a run for his money," she says with a laugh as she gets plates out of her cupboard.

Putting on his favorite terrible Spanish accent he says, "Si, El Generico numero uno best looking man."

Anika starts cutting up the lasagna and sets a plate in front of him, having given him a sizeable piece. He's sure he'll finish it off and eye the rest, silently wishing for seconds. She joins him at the table after getting them glasses of ice water.

She's avoiding looking him in the eyes, he can tell. A nervous habit of hers it seems.

They eat in relative silence. Sami wishes he could think of something to say but after being seemingly so happy Anika's mood appears to have dropped. He can see this cat means a lot ot her and as much as she tries to appear happy, in the back of her mind is her lost animal.

"I'll do the dishes," Sami offers.

"What? No! I'm repaying you."

"I haven't even done anything yet."

"So you think." Anika snatches up the plates before he can make a move.

After she's done they head out with missing posters in hand. At first they head in the same direction, each armed with heavy duty tape, but Sami eventually branches out into his own section. He memorizes the cat - kind of tubby, orange tabby, with a white dot above its nose - so if by some miracle he comes across it he knows what she looks like. Apparently her name is Jazzy.

When he runs out of papers he heads back to their agreed meeting place a couple blocks from her home. Sami sees her as he approaches, standing there nervously playing the the end of her ponytail. He takes notice of her clothes, this being the first time he's seen her out of professional work uniforms. Her style is very relaxed - fitted jeans, slip on shoes, and a nice black blouse. Cute and attractive are the first words to run through his mind.

"Hopefully someone finds her," Anika says when he's close enough to her. Her smile up at him is weak but hopeful.

Sami feels like reaching out and giving her a comforting touch on the shoulder but holds himself back. As much of a huggy person he is he does his best to contain himself around people he doesn't know especially well. Never know who isn't a hugger.

On the way back Sami decides he is going to ask. If she really doesn't feel like it he won't push and he won't ask again for an outing, but if he doesn't ask he'll never know. So when they reach his car he says casually, "On Sunday me and some of the other wrestlers are going to a karaoke bar. I don't drink, but I go to listen to Enzo embarrass himself. Would you want to come?"

"I . . . I mean, yes, I would love to." Theres a shock in Anika's voice at the invitation, as though she never thought such a thing would be possible. "And for the record I don't drink either. We could be designated drivers if need be."

"I'll bring juice boxes for us."

Anika laughs. "Orange juice for me, please."

"Okay but only if I get to say 'orange you glad I didn't forget the juice boxes'."

"That was terrible and you need to go," she says between trying to contain her laughter and walking away.

On his way home Sami begins to wonder how in the world a nice, caring, pretty woman would be so self-conscious. What makes her think she's such an outsider? He does his best not to dwell on it too much. If everything goes well on Sunday hopefully Anika will begin to gain confidence.

In the mean time Sami can't help but notice theres been a car following him for the past five minutes or so. A nice, seemingly harmless red mercury, but its taking every single turn he does which has been quite a few on the way back just to see what its doing. Sami decides he's definitely not leading this car back to his apartment so instead he goes to the nearest mall parking lot, hurriedly locking his door and heading his way inside. The red car did follow him into the parking lot but he didn't see where he (or she) parked. Could just be a really weird fan but Sami likes to think his fans aren't this weird.

He gives it about ten minutes of wandering around before heading back out. Originally Sami was concerned someone was going to break into this car but he never took into account someone would take one of the little posters of Jazzy, crumple it up, and stick it under one of his windshield wipers.