Thursday 2nd August 2012

"Hey Dolph, it's AJ. I'm not sure why you're not picking up your phone right now, but I'm just calling to let you know that you have to be at Zack's apartment by 7:30 tonight, okay? I'll see you later on then, Ziggy."

He was doing this for her. He'd spent the past few days trying to convince himself that the party was going to be great, that he'd have a good time, have a laugh and some fun with his friends, but who was he kidding? He was only attending his 'birthday' party for AJ so it would make her happy after going through so much trouble planning it all with Zack.

He just didn't want a party, that was all. Dolph knew how all of Zack's parties turned out, they would end up being sophomoric, loud and full of drunken messes. He felt like he was too old to have those kind of parties take place because of his birthday, and in all honesty he would much prefer to hit them gym and focus on how to get better in the ring, if that was even possible because he was pretty darn exceptional in the ring already. Also, Dolph wasn't an idiot, he knew that Zack had only agreed to this because he was single and wanted to have an excuse to get laid. He may be one of Dolph's closest friends, but when it came to women, Zack had to take any opportunity that he could get. He wasn't the biggest catch in the world.

But anyway, he was cruising down the street on his way to Zack's house despite all of that, just for her. The things Zack was saying to Dolph the other day about there being something more between himself and AJ were still playing on his mind. He'd done everything he could to avoid even thinking about it, but the thought that maybe deep down he was harbouring some feelings for AJ, it wouldn't disappear. Dolph couldn't deny that there was obviously a love between them, but he'd always thought it was the kind of love you would generally feel for your friend, he'd never even contemplated it being more serious than that, but ever since Zack brought it up, he knew it could possibly mean much more than that.

Dolph parked up a few blocks away from where Zack's apartment was. He couldn't get any closer to the building if he tried, there were so many cars here. It's probably his own fault for arriving 45 minutes later than when AJ had told him to get here. She was surely gonna be pissed off.

He slowly made his way to where the party was at, and even from outside he could tell that the party was exactly what he had expected. Loud, blaring music was heard from all across the street, and Dolph was able to get a slight glimpse into the apartment because it was only a few floors up, and he could already tell that a few people were wasted with the way they were dancing to the music. This night was going to be eventful to say the least, and that might not be a good thing.

The Cleveland native reluctantly walked straight into Zack's apartment. He saw all of his co-workers and friends as soon as he got through the door, and before he could register in his mind who each person was, they all came flocking around him to say happy birthday. It was a little overwhelming that they were all so pleased to see him here, and actually, it all seemed a little fake. Today wasn't his birthday, his birthday was a week ago. Today's party was an honest attempt for AJ to give him some sort of present, bless her heart, and it was also for Zack to pick up chicks. Nothing more.

He said hi to everyone, made sure people weren't getting too drunk and tried to make his way through the swarm of people in the apartment. It was crazy how many people were actually here for this party, and how much alcohol was sitting on the kitchen counters. It took a good ten minutes for Dolph to make his way over to Zack to tell him he was finally here. And surprise surprise, Zack was drunk.

"Hey bro, you finally made it!" Zack flung his arms around Dolph for what he liked to call a 'broski hug', and almost fell over in the process. "Aren't you like two hours late man? Where've you been?"

"I'm not that late Zack, but jesus, how drunk are you right now?"

"I dunno what you're talking about!" Zack had to shout his words because the music was so loud. Dolph totally wasn't buying Zack's words acting as if he wasn't drunk right now, he could smell the strong stench of alcohol on his breath, and he wasn't even that close to him anymore seeing as Zack had just taken his arms from around him.

"Yeah, okay then buddy. Hey, have you seen AJ? I can see everyone else but her right now."

Zack took a quick scan around the room to look for her. She was so small, she probably got lost in the crowd right now. After a little while, Zack pointed to something behind Dolph's head. "She's right over there. By the way dude, she looks smokin' hot tonight."

Dolph peered over his shoulder to see where she was. Sure enough, after a few people had moved out of the way so he could finally see her, there she was. She was simply breath-taking. AJ was wearing a small black dress that accentuated her curves beautifully, and strangely enough, she was wearing black pumps instead of her trademark Chuck Taylor's. Her hair was wavy without a single strand out of place, and he could tell from a distance she was wearing more makeup than usual, but it wasn't too overdone. She was stunning, and in his opinion, by far the most beautiful woman in the room tonight, and there were a lot of women here.

He called out her name to try and get her attention, but the music was so nearly deafening that she couldn't hear him. She probably hadn't even noticed that he'd arrived already. She finally managed to lock eyes with him after Dolph was waving his arms around in the air like a lunatic to gain her attention. He may be a little too eager to talk to her right now.

She pushed through the crowd of people to make her way over to him and as soon as she got close she pulled him into a friendly embrace. It felt good for Dolph to have her in his arms, even if it was just for the fact she was one of the few people here that wasn't drinking alcohol because she never touched a drop.

AJ withdrew her arms from around him and then playfully hit him on the chest. "Why the hell are you so late? Didn't you get my message telling you to be here for half 7?"

"Of course I did, someone had to be fashionably late."

"But this party is for you, jerk, you're supposed to be here on time!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you somehow." He said to her with a suggestive grin on his face.

He was enjoying having some banter with her, but unfortunately for him, that couldn't last. John Cena had strolled over to the two of them and he snuck his arms around AJ's waist. The sight of him here, at a party especially thrown for him didn't sit well with Dolph. Cena didn't like him at all, why the hell would he want to be here for this? It was probably so he could keep an eye on AJ or make sure that Dolph's reminded that he was still her boyfriend. How pathetic of him.

"Babe, let me go properly introduce you to my friend Mike over there, he wants to meet you." John directly said to AJ, blanking Dolph while doing it.

"Okay, sure babe. I'll come back and talk to you later, Dolph." She smiled up at him before turning to leave.

"Oh yeah, happy birthday man." Cena said to Dolph, finally acknowledging what this whole thing was for. Even when Dolph couldn't really hear him that well because of the music, he knew that his tone of voice was incredibly dull while saying that as if he couldn't care less about it being his birthday. It was unreal how much Dolph had come to hate this man now, but in all fairness, it wasn't as if the hate was uncalled for. He'd tried so hard to like the man for AJ's sake, but it was never going to work out.

As long as Cena was hovering around his best friend, this party was going to suck.


The beach had always been a good place for Dolph to relax and clear his head. The sound of the waves crashing was calming for him, and it was the perfect getaway from the party that was still going on now at almost midnight.

It hadn't turned out quite as bad as Dolph had originally expected. It was great seeing so many of his friends in one place and managing to talk and dance with them all. He'd actually had quite a laugh, but there was only so much he could take now. It may sound as if he was an old man in saying this, but he just wanted to go home and crawl into bed. This was the sort of party he would have enjoyed quite a few years ago, not now. He just wanted to focus on his career.

"Hey, you!" A familiar voice came from behind him. "Here you are, I've hardly seen you all night!"

AJ padded her way over to Dolph and took a seat next to him on the soft sand. His mood had elevated just at the sight of her, and he'd almost forgot how good she looked tonight after not being able to talk to her for a few hours because she was chatting away with Cena and his friend.

"Yeah, I know. Uh, thanks for deciding to throw a party for me with Zack, AJ. It's been great and you really didn't have to go to that much trouble."

"Nonsense, of course I did! I wanted you to have a good time seeing as you weren't here to have the party on your actual birthday. I'm just glad that you've enjoyed it." She told him, smiling brightly with every word that crossed her lips. He loved seeing her this happy.

"Thanks again, I really didn't expect it. I know you're not exactly the partying kind of girl and it got pretty hectic tonight."

"Come on Dolph, you know I'm the chick that everybody wants to party with. In my spare time I like to read comic books and play video games. Total party animal right here." She joked.

"Sure." Dolph laughed and then started to pick up handfuls of sand and let it flow through his fingers. Being around her right now, for whatever reason was starting to make him feel a little nervous. Maybe it was Zack's words that were starting to leave an effect on him, or just the way she looked tonight. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Seriously though, thank you, it was the perfect birthday present."

"Hold on, you really thought that was your birthday present?" AJ giggled and then pulled something out that she'd been hiding behind her back. "Happy birthday, Ziggy."

Dolph took a black velvet box from her hand hesitantly, not quite believing she'd bought him something as well as having this party. He opened it up and in the box was a beautiful watch that looked as if it had cost a fortune. Dolph was at a loss for words and it took him quite a while to say anything. "Jesus, AJ… I love it! Damn, this looks seriously expensive. I thought I said no presents though?"

"Did you really think I was going to not give you a present?" She smiled at him, evidently proud that he loved her gift. "In the past year you've become such a huge part of my life, and I wanted to get you a gift to show just how much. Besides, I know you've been wanting a watch for a while now, so this might shut you up about it."

Dolph quickly wrapped his arms around her. He absolutely hated how he had barely been able to talk to her all day, so to share this moment with her now and have this token of how much their friendship was worth, it meant a lot to him. After a little while, she withdrew from his embrace and then much to his surprise, planted a kiss on his cheek.

Dolph didn't like the fact that there were butterflies in his stomach from one simple kiss.

"I should probably be getting back inside, John's leaving soon so I need to go say bye to him." She said.

She brought John up. Talk about a mood killer. "Right. John."

His disdain for Cena was unmistakeable in his last words, and it was not lost on AJ. She instantly noticed it. "What's with that tone of voice?"

"Nothing… it's just…" Dolph cursed under his breath. He couldn't put on a positive front about the John situation any longer. He had to be honest about his feelings towards him. "He clearly hates me, and quite frankly, I'm not too keen on him either. In fact no, I'll be brutally honest with you here AJ, I hate him too. I'm wondering why the hell he turned up at a party that was thrown for me."

AJ stared at him for a little while, obviously shocked that he'd just said that he hates her boyfriend. "Don't be silly, he doesn't hate you. He just finds our friendship a little weird because we're so close, but then again, doesn't everyone?" It didn't go unnoticed by him that she chose to skip over and ignore how he had said that he hates John. She always seemed to do that, ignore the things that she didn't want to hear.

"Believe me, I know he finds our friendship weird, but that's not just it. You don't see the dirty looks he sends me, or how he will go to any length to not talk to me or be a complete prick when you're around. I'm sorry AJ, but I just hate the guy."

She shook her head and then looked away from him. "I think you're overreacting. Look, John's a sweetheart, and he knows how much you mean to me so I doubt that he'd be that way with you."

"Sure, go ahead and don't believe what I'm telling you. I'm just overreacting. You know, this is exactly why we never talk about John."

"Excuse me?"

Dolph looked AJ straight in the eyes, and guilt started to build up within him. He could see in the dim light from afar that her brown orbs were watery and that him saying all of this was affecting her. He hated to be the one to cause her pain, he was usually the one to pick her up whenever she was sad. "Doesn't matter." Dolph bowed his head down because he couldn't stand seeing that sad look from her. "You should probably get back inside. John wouldn't approve of you spending so much time with me out here."

AJ shook her head with disapproval and got up to leave him. She took a few steps but then turned back. She had one final thing to say before she went back inside. "Listen, I planned this party out with Zack because I care about you and wanted you to have a good time. Don't you dare throw it back in my face by hurting me like that. That's such a douchebag move Dolph, and I expected better from my best friend. Or at least, that's what I thought you were."

He watched her storm off back to Zack's apartment and he'd never felt like more of a dick in his entire life. She'd thoroughly planned this out with Zack and also bought him a gorgeous watch, and what did he do in return? Talk shit about her boyfriend. 'Great move, Dolph. Nice job.' He thought to himself.

But, on the other hand, wasn't he doing the right thing by being honest with how he felt about John? He could lie to her and forever act like he loved the guy, but that wasn't him. He couldn't lie to someone he cared about more than anything in the world. Really, that was him actually being a good best friend.

All he knew was that he felt like an idiot, he hated John, and he'd hurt AJ.

Oh, and he also knew that Zack was right. AJ did look smokin' hot tonight.