Monday, February 22, 2016

Jade parked her car behind the arena, the valet running to greet her as she emerged from her vehicle. The drive from Orlando to Miami didn't take long, and she was thankful her first night on RAW was somewhere close to where she had been for so long.

"You must be Jade." The young man asked her holding his hands out for her keys. She gave him a funny look and dropped them in his hands, her eyes wandering across the sparse parking lot for a familiar face. It was early, and most people probably hadn't arrived by now, but she was here bright and early for her first day on the main roster.

"Hold up." Jade called out as she popped her trunk open. Pulling out a few bags, she nodded at the young man and made her way towards the back entrance that was lined with semis. The amount of production she could see was already staggering compared to NXT, and she felt her throat catch as she got closer to the large steel doors.

"Good morning, Ms. Michaels. Head on in and take a right at the first hallway to get to the offices." A young woman smiled at her and held the door open as she entered.

"Thanks." Jade smiled awkwardly as she entered dragging her two rolling bags behind her. This place was already a step up.

She stepped inside, the air-conditioned air hitting her like a brick wall as the door shut behind her. The stark, concrete hallways with tall ceilings brought back memories, even if she had never set foot in this building a day in her life. After that fateful seventh birthday, her dad would bring her on the road with him for a week every summer. Their travels took them across the country, every city full of fans chanting her father's name. It was when she really got to know who he was.

Memories from long ago floated through her mind as she turned towards the women's locker room. Her dad's friends would make her laugh and throw her around like she weighed nothing. Hunter would chase her down the halls until she got to the girls' room then wait outside to scare the living shit out of her again when she finally mustered the courage to leave. Sunny would do Jade's hair and nails and let her try on her ring clothes, even if she was swimming in them as a kid. Funny how the acoustics of a backstage arena could evoke such memories.

Jade stepped into the dressing room and laid her eyes on the only other woman in there: Paige, a person she not only respected but loved as a true friend, sat on a bench near the back obviously waiting for her to arrive.

"Well, if it isn't Jade Michaels."

"Paige." Jade smiled over at her and let her grip on the bags loosen.

"Get over here, sweetheart." Paige's thick accent made Jade's nerves subside. It was a familiar voice, one that she was hoping she would get to hear sooner than later. They hugged, Paige standing and laughing when Jade squealed with delight reaching out for her.

"It's your time." Paige said letting go and looking Jade in the eye.

"Thanks, man." Jade wiped a tear from her eye before it had a chance to fall. "I can't fucking believe it's come to this."

"That's hard work!" Paige nudged her shoulder. "Hard work and dedication."

"Anyone else here?" Jade asked sitting down to rummage through her bags.

"Steph is in her office, and a few others usually show up for free breakfast in catering." Paige nodded behind her. "Leave your stuff here and we'll grab a bite to eat."

"Alright." Jade shoved her bags into a shelf behind Paige and followed her out of the dressing room. It wasn't what she expected, but she was more than relieved to see her friend there waiting for her on her first day. To say she was nervous to face the entire crew and talent alone was an understatement, and knowing that she had a familiar face with her made her feel a bit better.

"You ready to feud with me, girl?" Paige glanced at her over her shoulder, her voice taunting her like she had in the ring so many times back when they both were in NXT.

"For the title?" Jade asked incredulously as they rounded the corner down the hall.

"Don't get cocky, now." Paige frowned at her, and Jade burst out laughing at the sour look on her face.


Paige had Becky Lynch on the mat. After a series of blows to the head and an Irish Whip into the corner, Becky writhed on the ground as the champion gloated on the top rope. It wasn't her style to finish off her opponents quickly. She liked to make them suffer.

"This is MY house!" She screamed to the crowd, a mix of cheers and boos erupting as she called out to them. She stood motioning her hands around her waist, her title belt sitting with the timekeeper not far from the ring, and glared into the crowd.

Just then, Jade's music hit; Six by All That Remains. She had used it as an entrance since back in her developmental days, and it thundered through the arena to a stunned audience. There was silence for a second until everyone began to cheer, Jade's name flashing across the screen as her entrance movie played. She emerged at the top of the stage and stared at the champion in the ring soaking up the moment as the crowd popped.

"What is she doing here?" Paige screamed at the ref who was shaking his head he didn't know. Becky still laid on the mat, pulling herself under the ropes as Jade began to make her way to the ring.

"Jade! Jade! Jade!" Everyone chanted as she strode down the ramp pointing to the crowd before training her eyes on Paige again. She was backing away into the far corner of the ring, unknowingly towards where her opponent was lying in wait.

Becky took advantage of the distraction and pulled Paige's feet out from underneath her as she laid on the apron. It knocked the wind out of her leaving the champion lying on her back. Becky rolled out of the ring to safety and watched Jade jump up into the ring. Her music abruptly stopped, the noise of the crowd really hitting her strong, and she watched Paige struggle to get back up as she entered through the second rope. Jade crouched and grinned in anticipation watching her finally stand up and stumble into the centre of the ring.

Sweet Chin Music. The crowd popped as she paid homage to her father, the chants for HBK beginning already. She waited a few moments as the anticipation built and then hit her with a tornado DDT. It was a harsh introduction, but her RAW debut had to start with a bang, and the crowd loved it. She stood in the middle of the ring and raised her arms over her head, the ref ringing the bell and calling for a disqualification due to outside interference.

"She's out!" Jade screamed jumping up to the top rope. Fans screamed as her music erupted again, and she pointed to an especially excited young girl in the crowd wearing one of her t-shirts.

Her gloating didn't last long as Becky near her not too happy about the interruption but kept her distance from the feisty newcomer outside of the ring. They had a history in NXT as well, but it was tame compared to the champion and Jade. Anyone who watched NXT would know the women would be at each other's throats every week.

Sliding under the ropes and making her way back to the stage, she motioned her hands around her waist in an effort to mock Paige as the crowd cheered her on.

"That title will be mine!" Jade shouted as Paige began to come to, her first demand her belt be brought to her. "Things are going to change around here."


"It was great, Jade." Stephanie patted her on the back as she tried to catch her breath. "Your father must be so proud of you."

"Thank you." Jade was still shaking from the whole experience, but the nerves had lifted and were replaced with pure joy. She had totally kicked ass out there, and everything went off without a hitch. A part of her couldn't wait to call her mom and dad and see if he had been watching, but she knew Shawn had probably already called her and left a voicemail. He usually did after a big match, and tonight was definitely in that category.

"Nice work, kid." Michael Hayes winked at Jade from his seat. Vince cracked a smile, and she grinned back happy that everyone was reacting so positively.

"I'll see you later. Celebrate – you deserve it." Steph grinned again and left Jade's side returning to her seat beside her father.

Jade took a drink of water and pushed through the curtain separating gorilla from the rest of backstage and walked towards the dressing room where Paige was already gearing down. She felt her heart racing as she replayed the entire scene in her head over and over critiquing her every move. It had gone well, better than she expected thanks to the fans' reaction, but there was always room for improvement. She couldn't wait to give Paige a huge hug for putting her over.

"Hey." A gruff voice tore Jade from her thoughts, and she glanced up at the tall figure she had nearly walked straight into.

"Hi." She said quietly. It was Dean Ambrose, his name outside of the squared circle Jon Good. He was in his ring gear and headed where she just came from no doubt in time for his own match.

"You did good." He said simply as he rubbed his taped hands together. His eyes scanned up and down her short frame finally stopping to stare into hers.

"Thanks." Jade didn't know what else to say, his demeanour making her a bit uncomfortable as he towered over her. He was much bigger standing in front of her than he looked on television. She forced a smile and continued walking, not sure what else to say and also just wanting to sit down and gather her thoughts.

She glanced over her shoulder at him expecting him to be almost at gorilla at this point, but was still just standing there wringing his hands together like a maniac. His steely eyes were trained on her, and she quickly looked ahead of her again wondering why in the hell he was staring as she walked away. Something about his uneasy gaze made her nervous, but she pushed the thought from her mind and focussed again on Paige and the encounter they just had.

The crowd roared as Jon's music began to play, Michael screaming for him to hurry the fuck up from gorilla position. Was he still standing there? She was almost at the bend in the hall and couldn't stop herself from looking back one more time, barely catching a glimpse of him disappearing behind the long black curtain.


Jade was in her hotel room with Paige and Matt, the three of them eating room service at the small table and barely paying attention to the Rocky movie that played on television behind them. It had been a long night, but Jade didn't feel an ounce of exhaustion. Still riding the adrenaline from her debut earlier in the night, she was wide awake and ready to act on Steph's advice. It was time to celebrate.

"What did your dad say?" Paige asked taking a bite of her cheeseburger. How the girl ate like she did and maintained her physique was beyond Jade.

"He was happy." Jade shrugged as she mixed her salad together.

"That's it?" Matt chuckled. He knew how Jade felt about her dad but pressed for more details.

"I actually haven't talked to him yet." Jade admitted.

"What?" Paige nearly shouted. "Why the hell not?"

"He called and left a voicemail. It's too late now." She glanced at the clock by her bed that read 10:14 p.m.

"Fuck that." Matt shook his head. "I'm sure he would love to hear from you. Your mom too."

"You sound like my mom." Jade smiled. "I'll call them in the morning. If anyone understands, it's my dad."

"I guess." Paige shrugged popping a French fry in her mouth. "I think it's weird he wasn't here to watch you."

"I didn't want him here." Jade blurted out. She felt her cheeks flush as her friends were quiet, both of them understanding her feelings about her father. It was complicated.

"You put up a good front, Jade." Matt leaned back in his chair pushing his empty plate away from him. "Anyone else would be milking that angle for all it was worth."

"So are we gonna go have a few drinks or what?" Jade changed the subject. Paige smiled and nodded, her mouth full of food, and Matt gave Jade a look for avoiding the topic.

"There's a bar downstairs." He suggested. Jade smiled and stood from her seat leaving her half-eaten salad on the table.

"Good enough for me. I think I deserve a beer."


Tomorrow was another long day, one that involved driving from Miami back to Tampa where Smackdown was being taped. It would be Jade's first match, a short one against Alicia Fox that was meant to put Jade over even more. She swore she would only have one beer, but that turned to two once she's spent nearly an hour introducing herself to people she would be working with for the foreseeable future. Production crew, creative, and some talent she didn't have the opportunity to work with before came and said hello to her as she stood in the bar. It was adjacent to the front door, mostly everyone finding her while heading in for the night. Almost every person mentioned her dad and how proud he must be, how Jade did his finisher justice better than anyone else could. She nodded and thanked each one of them, her excitement masking her usual demeanour whenever someone compared her to him. She would be lying if she didn't say it felt right to be there doing that move in front of a live crowd on RAW. She was her father's daughter, after all.

"Anyway, nice to meet you." Colby nodded at her after their short conversation. Jade had never met Seth Rollins, or Tyler Black as she knew him from watching ROH for so many years. It was nice of him to stop by on his way upstairs to introduce himself. Paige might have had something to do with it, as Jade noticed their side glances at each other the whole conversation.

"You too." She smiled as he left the bar, his bag slung over his shoulder. Star-struck wasn't the word she was looking for, but something had to define what she was feeling meeting all of these people for the first time as equals. Admiration, maybe, but it made her feel great knowing she was finally where she was meant to be: On the main roster.

"Where's Victoria?" Paige asked taking a sip of her fruity cocktail and glancing around the bar for Alicia Fox.

"Not sure." Jade returned. Matt was on the other side of the room chatting with a few other people. She didn't really know anybody else there, everyone probably locals or crew she had never met.

"Watch my drink. I'll be back." Paige set her glass down beside Jade's beer and pushed herself off the counter.

"Where are you going?" Jade asked nervously. She was a bit of an introvert, despite her career choice, and a room full of strangers, especially the gawking fans in the corner, made her uncomfortable.

"If you must know, I have to use the restroom." Paige frowned. "Come with if you want. We can't very well bring those in with us." She pointed at their drinks on the bar and Jade thought for a moment.

"Just be quick. We should head upstairs soon anyway." She responded realizing it had to be past 11:30 by now. Paige nodded and left, and Jade took out her phone so she would have something to stare at while she waited.

1 missed call
Dad
10:43 p.m.

1 new voicemail
Dad
10:45 p.m.

Jade felt her heart sink. Maybe she should have called him back. Not like that thought ever crossed his mind years ago. She had texted her mom earlier in the day and explained she would call in the morning. As much as she resented her dad barely reaching out to her for all those years, a part of her felt like maybe she should have texted him too.

She stuffed her phone back in her purse and grabbed both her and Paige's drink. There was an empty booth at the back away from the busyness of the lobby and she needed to sit down. Her head was spinning trying to remember the names of all the people she had just met, minus the talent, and who knew how long Paige would be.

"You rock, Jade!" A man called out to her from another booth as she passed by. There were four of them sitting together, a grin plastered over all of their faces with a pint of beer in front of each one.

"Thanks." Jade smiled at him as she kept walking. If the fans were happy, she was happy.

Reaching the end of the row of tables, she slid into the booth with her back to the now raucous group of men that encouraged her moments ago. She tried not to hear them egg one guy on to come say hello and secretly wished he wouldn't give into their drunken pleadings. Taking a sip of her beer, she set it back down before taking out her phone. Maybe texting her dad at this point would be better than nothing.

"Hey, mind if I sit down?" The man she recognized from the booth emerged from behind her with a sweaty brow. He looked nervous, and Jade gave him her best babyface smile.

"Hey, there. Yeah. Actually, I'm just waiting for a friend." She glanced back down at her phone hoping he would take a hint. The guy paused for a moment before continuing.

"I just wanted to say, I'm a big fan. You beating Paige for the NXT Women's Championship was one of the best matches I've seen in years. I – I'm Greg, by the way." With that, he slid into the seat across from her, and Jade sat up straight in response.

"I – uh, well thanks. Glad you liked it. I really don't think –"

"Maybe I could buy you a drink. I mean, you and whoever's drinking this." He poked at Paige's red concoction and smiled up at her. Jade could tell the guy was persistent, and his devilish grin and Stone Cold t-shirt clued her in.

"I'm fine, thanks." Jade tried not to cringe too noticeably. "Nice meeting you."

"I'm sure you're sick of hearing it, but your dad is amazing. I mean, you doing his superkick is just gold. Nobody else can –"

"You seem like a nice guy, Greg. I'm just a little tired, and when my friend gets back I'm gonna call it a night." She set her phone down and pulled Paige's drink a little bit closer to her away from the sweaty man.

"You can't stick around? Maybe your friend will want to." Greg smirked and tapped his fingers on the table, Jade not sure if he was growing impatient or if it was just a nervous tick.

"No thanks." Jade said with finality leaning back in her seat away from him. This is exactly why she was hesitant about Paige leaving.

"I'll keep you company for a bit, then." Greg leaned back as well and crossed his arms over his chest. Before Jade could get another word out, a rough voice behind her made her jump in her seat, though her reaction was pale in comparison to Greg who saw the face of whomever it was.

"Hope I'm not interrupting." Jon approached the table sending the guy an icy glare. If looks could kill, Jade thought, this guy would be long gone.

"Not at all." She piped up quickly. Greg looked like he had died and went to heaven after the initial shock.

"Dean Ambrose? Holy fuck. I can't believe this. You guys, it's –" Greg peered over Jade's head shouting to his friends still hiding in their booth.

"Yeah, yeah. It's me, Dean fuckin' Ambrose. How about you beat it?" Jon nodded towards the group of men that were now all watching. Greg was quiet for a second, his eyes glancing over at Jade who was awkwardly trying to find something to look at. As much as she appreciated the interruption, she didn't know if the situation warranted such a strong reaction.

"Yeah." Greg stuttered as he fumbled out of the booth. "Nice to meet you." With that he walked back to his table with his tail tucked between his legs, all the courage he had mustered up to talk to Jade now vanished. She forced a smile as he left and waited for Jon's next move.

He slid into the booth across from her and ran a hand through his hair, his loud exhale making her squirm a bit. He seemed so casual, and she found it was odd that he would just invite himself to sit down after kicking the guy to the curb. A part of Jade admired his confidence, but she tried to keep that thought from spreading a grin across her face.

"Ms. Michaels herself. Didn't know when you would be making your way up here." He adjusted the drinks in front of them so he could lean forward, his strong arms crossing on the table as he spoke. "I'm Jon."

"I know." Jade's voice cracked. "I mean, I know who you are."

"Oh yeah?" He cocked an eyebrow and shot her a smile, one that she couldn't help but return.

"Yeah. Dean Ambrose, the Lunatic Fringe." She mocked as he continued to grin. "Although that little show there was more Jon Moxley."

"So you do know me." He wiped his mouth as if to get rid of his smile. Jade couldn't help but notice his demeanour was so different than earlier in the night when she bumped into him at the arena. The glaze over his eyes was gone, and his casual clothing masked his intimidating form.

"I do." Jade held back another smile. Something about the way he leaned over the table towards her made her heart race. He was handsome, his hair falling into his eyes and hiding their blue colour, and he kept smiling at her as if waiting for her to say something more.

"I'm sure you've heard how great you did tonight." He said lifting a finger towards the table of men who were now awfully quiet.

"I have." Jade said tucking her long hair behind her ear. "Thanks."

"Thought the DDT was a bit sloppy myself." He raised his eyebrows and reached across the table to snatch Jade's beer. She let out a laugh watching him boldly take a sip and slide it back towards her. If he was trying to hit on her, he sure had an interesting way of going about it.

"Oh yeah?" She asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Superkick was spot on though." A grin flashed across his face as he stared her down, his arms crossing in front of him again as he leaned towards her. Jade was quiet, his eyes almost piercing right through her as she thought of what to say. It wasn't often she was at a loss for words, but something about him made her clam up.

"Just thought I'd stop by, introduce myself." Suddenly he pushed himself up off the table and towered over her.

"Take care, Jon." She said quietly, the sight of Paige walking towards them in the corner of her vision as he exited the booth. He smiled at her once more before walking away, a confused Paige coming to take his place and giving Jade a strange look.

"What did he want?" She suspiciously watched him walk away and grabbed her drink.

"Just saying hello." Jade tried to remain nonchalant and hesitantly took a swig of her beer before standing up. "I'm ready for bed. C'mon."

"Never seen him smile like that." Paige muttered to herself following her roomie towards the elevator.