48 HOURS
Wednesday 23rd December 2015
"We got a problem." Naomi's tired eyes fluttered open to see her husband's worried face hanging over her. She hadn't seen him look so worried in a long time.
"What's wrong?"
"You know that antique vase you bought your mom for Christmas? With all the details and shit?" Naomi drew in a sharp breath, she had a bad feeling about what was coming. If he said what she thought he was gonna say, she might actually have to hurt him.
"What about it?"
"I broke it." Jimmy grimaced. Naomi nodded, trying her best not to freak out at him. An attempted murder would only make the situation worse (which was arguable, in her opinion).
"I think," she spoke slowly, "you should go and buy her a new one. It probably won't be the same vase, but just…" she waved her hand in the air as her sentence trailed off. "Get her something nice."
The next thing she did was get her phone and invite Ava out for lunch, because food seemed to be the only relaxant at this point.
Jimmy wasn't going to go on his search for a vase alone. Jey, his twin brother, had already declined his offer, stating that he's spent too much of his life fixing his mistakes. On the other hand, Roman was more than ready to offer a helping hand.
For some reason, they found themselves in a grocery store instead of an antique shop.
"What happened when you and Ava left last night?" Jimmy asked, eyeing an arrangement of candy.
"Nothing close to what you're thinking of."
"Really? Nice." Jimmy was another day closer to winning the bet. Sure, he was indirectly wishing for his cousin to not get what he wanted – but Naomi gave really good massages.
"Nice?"
"Never mind." Roman decided against pursuing Jimmy's weird response, especially once his eyes landed on a 24-piece box of Ferrero Rocher. His lips curled into a smile, he knew exactly who would appreciate that.
Ava's options were either getting a late lunch with Naomi, or sitting on the couch watching shitty television. She probably wasn't going to get an easier choice for the rest of her life. Besides, it seemed as if Naomi was on her way to catching a murder case if she didn't leave the house.
When she arrived at the coffee shop, her best friend was sat at a table scrolling through her phone, as everyone else seemed to be. The first thing Ava did when she sat down was take her jacket off, the weather was surprisingly warm for December and she didn't need it.
"Has Jimmy found a new vase yet?"
"Jimmy who?" Naomi hit back without missing a beat. This earned a laugh from Ava, who now realised to not bring the subject up. Instead the girls spoke about everything under the sun, from hair to movies and even the night before. Somehow, the topic of the WWE Secret Santa had come up again, Ava still confused and slightly bitter about her gift.
"I mean, baby oil?"
"To be fair, I wouldn't know what to get you if I were her. You're so closed off."
"I'm not that bad."
"I'm your best friend and even I feel like I don't know you sometimes." The comment made Ava pause. Deep down, she knew Naomi was right – the woman was rarely wrong. That didn't mean she was going to admit it out loud, though.
"Damn, you didn't have to take it there."
"You don't even want to spend time with our family over Christmas, and you know we accept you." Naomi spilling all of this was more than a vain attempt to win her bet with Jimmy, they were words her friends needed to hear. Whilst Naomi had earned a reputation as the 'nice' one, she was never one to sugarcoat things.
"Roman opened his big mouth again, didn't he?"
"That's not the point."
Sunday 29th March 2015 – WrestleMania 31 – 269 DAYS AGO
The feeling of euphoria was like no other as the bell rang, signalling Ava as the winner of the match. There was nothing quite like competing at WrestleMania, it truly was the grandest stage of them all.
As she rolled out of the ring, it didn't even seem weird to her that her first instinct was to make her way over to Roman's family. She had met them earlier in the day, and the night before at the Hall of Fame ceremony. Talking to his parents and siblings was like second nature, she fit right in.
Their hands were everywhere as they all tried to embrace her. In that moment, nothing else seemed to matter. Maybe it was the excitement, maybe it was the sun blazing down on the open arena. Something just felt right.
Backstage was just as busy as ever, with everyone doing what they could to contribute to the running of the show. The smile remained on her face as she walked around, enjoying the praise from her co-workers. As she walked past a hallway, she noticed a familiar figure preparing for his match.
Roman was in the main event, going up against Brock Lesnar, the beast himself. Ava did not envy him one bit. She walked over and leaned on the wall opposite.
"That was a good match." Roman complimented, offering her a smile.
"You watched it?"
"I've got to support my favourite diva, don't I?" he responded, echoing her words from a few weeks before.
"You should start buying my merch next." A comfortable, content silence surrounded them. "Good luck for tonight. Try not to let Brock kill you."
"Come on, you know that ain't gonna happen."
"Well, it is Brock Lesnar." Ava grimaced. "Seriously though, I'm proud of you. You're gonna kill it." She threw her arms around him for a tight hug before getting on her way, allowing him to continue preparing for his match in solitude.
He couldn't help but smile to himself as he watched her walk away.
Ava was silent, letting the memory wash over her. She sighed inwardly as part of her actually began to consider the offer. Though she was staring at her coffee cup, she could feel Naomi's eyes on her.
"It's not a crime to let others in, you know. We won't hurt you."
"I wish you'd stop being so wise. Just for like, one day." Ava exhaled loudly, feeling a lot less secure than she was when she first walked in.
There was no reason to keep running, but that's what scared her.
A/N: Thoughts? And don't worry, we'll get some Roman/Ava interaction in the next chapter!
