"How's your head?" Colby asked as the four of them made their way through the arena, headed for the area in which they'd make their entrance.
"It's fine. Let's just focus on tonight." She said, seeming a little off. Maybe she was. Truth be told, Barbara didn't like people pandering to her injuries. She didn't like sympathy, because she didn't need it.
Her comment seemed to shut Colby right up, and caused Joe to raise his eyebrows slightly. Jon didn't bat an eyelash.
There were a few fans lingering around the area where they'd walk through the crowd, and they were all staring. Photo's were taken, questions were shouted their way, but none of them could really take the time to react. They needed to be ready for their entrance, they didn't take notice of the fans, they ignored the pleas for attention, and shrugged off any attempt to be touched. Barbara used to be the friendliest Diva on the roster, she'd take time out of everything for her fans, but now she needed to adapt. She was a heel now. She couldn't be seen as the nice girl anymore.
Soon enough, their music hit, and the four of them walked through the doors and began their entrance. Fans threw themselves their way, trying to get as close as they could to the three men of the Shield. Barbara didn't mind being the one people were less bothered about. Jon, Joe and Colby were all talented men, respected men, and Barbara was still seen as a Barbie doll. She needed to change that.
Climbing over the barricade, Kelly Kelly now made her way into the ring, a big smirk on her face. With three guys behind her, she knew tonight was going to go swimmingly. The Shield had their match against the Wyatt's tonight, and though any other Diva would be worried, Kelly simply welcomed them. She wasn't scared.
That's when the lights went out.
"We're here."
By the time the lights were back on, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan were stood across the ring. All three Shield members instinctively stood forwards, protecting their newest member. Bray Wyatt was sat outside the ring in his rocking chair, not participating in tonight's match. Kelly and Dean left the ring, and stood by the apron, watching as the match began.
It was a hard job, but Roman and Seth managed to stay on top of the match, isolating Erick in their corner. In a way she felt a little pleased with their choices. Luke had started the match, and they'd let him tag in Erick when he needed to. They wanted revenge for what he'd done to her.
In the blink of an eye Erick managed to roll out of the ring, out of the way of the beatings. Dean stood by Kelly's side, as she approached him, her hands on her hips. The ref was shouting from the ring, warning them not to make any moves.
"You want to try me again?" Kelly shouted, showing absolutely no fear when it came to the much larger man.
Erick stood upright, and just stared at her. Roman and Seth dropped down from the ring, and stood either side of Dean, protecting their friend.
"Believe in the Shield, sweetheart." She smirked, giving the man a playful wink as Roman ran through him with a powerful spear.
From then on, the Shield had a massive advantage in the match, managing to isolate Erick from his partner, and eventually get the pin.
This didn't go down well with Bray. He just about threw a fit and kicked his chair right over. Erick and Luke were thrown over the top rope, and to the floor. And then the lights went out again.
When they were on again, Kelly was alone in the ring. All three Shield members were spotted discarded on the floor, and when the blonde turned around, Bray Wyatt was stood in front of her, a big grin on his face.
"You going to hit me, as well?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips. "Bring it on, big guy."
This only brought out the laughter in Bray's character. He stepped towards her, and she didn't move. She didn't show him any fear, despite the fact that she was worried she couldn't over power him. He was bigger than her, it was simple. He'd win. She could put up the fight of her life, but when push comes to shove, she'd probably end up knocked out and kidnapped like the rest.
Within seconds, a slightly injured Dean Ambrose made his way into the ring, and managed to take down Bray Wyatt from behind, smashing his head into the ring. He just looked at Kelly, and nodded his head, before then sitting on the middle ring rope, and gesturing for her to leave the ring.
Then, just as they had the night before, all four members of the Shield left the ring, and disappeared backstage.
As she packed away her wrestling gear, Barbara felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned around to see Brie and Nikki smiling at her. "What's with you guys?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You're coming with us, tonight." Nikki said, very matter-of-factly. "No if's or but's, you're gonna come out with us and have a good time."
"Am I really?" Barbara smirked, knowing she would, but she just loved messing around with the girls. Placing her hands on her hips, she raised her eyebrow slightly more. "And who's going to make me?"
"Don't make me go Brie Mode on your ass, Barbs." Brie said, causing the three girls to laugh a little, and Barbara just nodded her head, letting them know that she'd be there tonight with them.
It had been over a year since Barbara had been a part of the WWE, and throughout that time she'd barely seen her friends. They'd obviously all been busy with work, touring and the Total Divas stuff, and the blonde had her modelling things, so she hadn't had the time to come out and see them. A night out with the Bella's was exactly what Barbara needed.
As she packed the rest of her things away, she looked at Brie, "I'll meet you in the hotel lobby, yeah?" She called, only for Brie to nod and call out a time for them to meet.
Walking through the door of the Diva's locker-room, Barbara almost jumped out of her skin when she almost walked right into Colby, who seemed to be lingering by the door.
"Dude, what the hell?" She asked, looking at him with an expression of confusion, and maybe worry.
"Sorry. I was just going to ask if you wanted to come with me and the guys for a drink?" He asked, averting her eyes. If Barbara didn't know better, she'd think he was nervous around her.
"Oh, sorry. I just told Brie and Nikki I'd have a catch up with them. Maybe some other time?" She smiled, not thinking too much of it. They spent loads of time together anyway, she figured it wouldn't be too much of a big deal.
"Uh, sure. See you tomorrow at the training center?" He asked, and she nodded, before walking towards the exit doors. Colby was pretty bummed out that she'd made other plans, he was hoping to get a minute alone with her. Though, he didn't think he would, considering how close she and Jon had been as of late.
The bar they'd chosen was pretty discreet, nothing too special. It was out of the way, and chances were they wouldn't be bothered here, which was the whole point of the place. So far, nobody had approached them, or even really looked their way. That was a plus in their books.
"So, no Barbara tonight?" Joe asked, as the three of them sat down in a booth in the corner, each with a beer in hand.
"Nah, she's got plans with the twins tonight." Colby said, not even bothering to hide the disappointment in his voice.
"Ooh, someone's not happy about that." Jon joked, nudging the man gently, as he took a sip of his beer.
Colby didn't say anything, just sipped on his beer, too, ignoring the looks that Joe and Jon were giving each other.
"I'm just kidding, man. Though, it's no secret that you like her." The United States Champion said, looking Colby over for a moment.
Again, he stayed silent. He was slightly embarrassed that he liked their newest member, and that it was so obvious. He didn't really want people knowing all of that. He certainly didn't want her to figure it out.
"Okay... perhaps a change of subject?" Joe suggested, raising his eyebrows in Jon's direction, who simply shrugged his shoulders. "That was a pretty hard hit to Wyatt tonight. You seemed almost... angry."
Jon hadn't expected this to be brought up, least of all from Joe. He shrugged his shoulders, "He had what was coming to him."
"Oh come on." Colby finally perked up, looking at the man to his left, who seemed surprised by the sudden outburst. "You only did it because you thought he was gonna do something to her."
That's when all three men suddenly went quiet, and Jon put his beer down on the table. "What are you implying, Lopez?" He asked, turning his body to face the two-toned male.
"Nothing at all. Just that maybe you're starting to like her, even if you started off fucking hating her." He said, and all that was heard after that was a low, heavy sigh from Joe.
"Come on, guys. We're not really gonna argue over a girl are we?" He said, leaning forwards.
Jon held his hand up to Joe, and looked Colby in the eye. "I did that, because of what she did for me. We're a team, Lopez. I was looking out for her, like she did for me. Like she would have for you, or Joe. I would have done the damn same for either of you." He explained, "So don't start pouting because I stood up first, and you didn't get to play the hero."
With that, Jon stood up, and left the bar. He couldn't be bothered with the accusations coming from his so-called friend. Colby was left to sulk beside Joe, who didn't really know what to say.
Finally arriving back to the hotel, Jon spotted a head full of bright blonde hair, and furrowed his brow. Wasn't she meant to be busy tonight?
"Trying to avoid us, are you?" He asked, as he stood beside her at the elevator.
She seemed surprised, and shook her head, smiling. "The girls bailed, seems John and Bryan were suddenly free, and they wanted time alone."
"Typical. Some friends, hm?" He said, looking at her, while the elevator doors opened. Once they were inside, he exhaled a little, "My night's been pretty shit, too."
"What happened?" She asked, as the doors shut, and the elevator began going up towards their floors.
"Ah, just Lopez. He seems to think that because I had your back tonight I have some silly crush on you." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. Why he was telling her this, he didn't know. But, she seemed to be more of a friend to him lately than his alleged best friend, so why the hell not.
"Oh." She didn't really know what to do with that information. She didn't want to make things awkward, so she shrugged her shoulders. "Do you?"
He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Don't flatter yourself." Barbara only laughed a little and shook her head.
Soon enough they arrived on Barbara's floor, but before she left the elevator, she looked at Jon. "We've both had pretty shit nights. You want to come in for a drink?" She suggested, to which he shrugged his shoulders, and followed her to her room.
Opening up her door, she walked inside, and kicked her shoes off by the door. He followed suit, and stood awkwardly by the door. Barbara didn't even notice as she rummaged through the drawers and pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels. Turning around, she noticed him standing there, and chuckled a little.
"You can sit down, you know." She said, gesturing to the sofa by the window.
Nodding, he did as he was told, and sat himself down while she grabbed two glasses and handed him one.
"At least you've got taste in drinks." He said, as she handed him the bottle to pour his own drink.
"Of course. None of that cosmopolitan, crap. Only the best." She grinned, as she sat down beside him, and took the bottle when he was done.
"You might be the only woman I've ever met who'll drink this straight, too."
"What's the point in messing with perfection?" She gave him a playful wink as she took a sip.
Sat there, on a small leather sofa, with a good drink in his hand, Jon thought that maybe this could be a decent friendship after all. Colby might not be too pleased that he was sat here with her, alone. In fact, this would only make him think more of the whole 'crush' idea. Brushing off that thought, Jon chose not to bother with irritating things tonight, and just enjoyed himself. Drank, drank, and drank some more.
Until soon enough, there wasn't a lot left to drink.
"So, tell me this." Barbara said, her voice slurring a little bit, "How is it that the United States Champion hasn't got a girl on his arm?" She raised her eyebrow, and sat back in the sofa, narrowing her eyes a little.
"The only girls I meet these days are either overly-vain Divas or fan-girls. I can't be bothered with either." He shrugged his shoulder, not seeming too phased by the alcohol, though the room was spinning a little bit.
"We're not all vain!" Barbara protested, laughing a little. "I'll have you know that I would quite happily turn up to meet and greets in a onesie, with my hair a mess if they'd let me."
"Okay, okay." He held his hands up in defense, laughing, too. "You're probably one of the better girls I've met lately." He admitted, shrugging again.
"Was that a compliment from Dean Ambrose? I hear those are pretty hard to come by." She said, smirking a little bit.
"Don't get used to it." He scowled, only causing her to smile more.
He didn't know whether it was the alcohol, the fact that Colby had suggested he liked her, or if he genuinely did, but Jon seemed to be warming up to Barbara a little bit more. In fact, it was a lot more. She seemed genuine, she wasn't trying to impress him, she didn't care if she did something embarrassing or didn't look perfect all the time. He liked that. Did he like her?
She noticed that he was just looking at her, and she kinked her brow together a little bit. "You okay?" She asked, though she was a little busy watching him, too. He was a lot nicer than people made out. In fact, she was quite thankful that she'd gotten to know him more tonight, simply because now she knew that he was a good guy. He was a nice guy, and she liked him. But, did she like him?
Neither of them got the chance to think anything through, because before either of them could change their minds, their bodies had done the work for them.
Lips crashed together in a mess of passion, alcohol and lust. Arms wrapped around one another in a desperate need for closeness. And before they knew it, their bodies were meeting together in a mesh of raw, fiery heat between the thin bed sheets of this alleged five star hotel room. Moans of pleasure echoed throughout the room, fingernails dug into flesh, and teeth sunk into lower lips. Never in a million years did either of them imagine this happening, but as it did, they couldn't ignore the fact that it was the best they'd ever had.