Disclaimer:

No, I don't own any of the WWE wrestlers, divas, associates, CEO's. I wish I did...but, I only own my OC's, and my ideas.


Nikki was standing outside, in the parking lot. She was waiting for the others, and wondering what was taking them so long, when she spotted Phil making his way toward her. Seeing him brought a smile to her face, even when she tried to stop it. When he was finally within earshot, Nikki asked, "Hey, where are Maria and Steve?"

Punk shrugged, "I don't know about Steve, but I don't think Maria's coming." He smiled at her when she looked at him in confusion. Punk reached out to place his hands on her hips, causing her to lean against the car, saying, "I told her what happened."

Nikki's jaw fell open, as she asked, "Oh my god, how mad was she?"

Punk grimaced, "Pretty upset," he looked Nikki in the eyes, "But it doesn't matter; I want you." As he leaned in to kiss her, a strange sound filled the place, and she turned to see where it was coming from...

Rrrrriiiiingggg rrrrrrriiiiiiiiingg riiiiiiinng

Nikki pulled the covers over her head, before stuffing it under the pillow to block out the sound. She was just having the best dream ever! Who was calling so early in the morning? When the phone wouldn't stop, Nikki swore; she blindly reached for the phone, answering it after fumbling with the buttons, "Hello?"

"Miss Valentine! Hello, it's Jeremiah, I called last night?"

Nikki forced herself to wake up, sitting up straighter and rubbing her eyes, "Yes, yes, I remember. What's up?"

"Well, I know I said I'd like to see you tomorrow, but I was wondering if you could possibly make it today? In, say, an hour or so?"

Nikki glanced at the clock; it was 9:30 AM. She bit back a sigh, before saying, "Yeah, that's fine. At the HQ?"

"Yes, same place. Excellent, I'll see you then."

Nikki nodded, throwing the phone to the end of the bed once Jeremiah hung up. She fell back on her pillow, trying to properly wake up, while not thinking about what happened last night. It was pretty difficult. So much had happened, she couldn't even begin to make sense of it, and she sort of didn't want to. Sighing, Nikki practically forced herself out of the bed, and made her way to the bathroom.

After a long shower, Nikki finally felt awake. Then, she spent fifteen minutes in her room, trying to find a good shirt to wear. She wanted to make the right impression, but she wasn't quite sure how to go about it. Did she want them to think she's a sophisticated, strong person? Or a daring, not-afraid-to-be-a-little-out-there person? In the end, she decided to just go natural, and grabbed a baby blue v-neck, and dark jeans. She ran a brush through her hair, before deciding to leave it down, grabbed her purse, and made her way outside.

Just as Nikki was about to pull on her coat, Punk's voice came from behind her, "It's a little too early to be heading out, isn't it?"

Nikki turned slowly to face Punk, "I guess so, but, what's a girl to do?" She smiled softly, feeling a bit awkward, considering what happened the night before.

Punk must have been thinking along the same track, as he said, "Just before you go, do you have a second?" Nikki glanced at the clock, before nodding, albeit hesitantly. Punk rubbed the back of his head, not quite sure how to approach this, before saying, "About last night..."

But before he could go on any further, Nikki cut him off, "Don't worry about it, it's no big deal." When Punk looked at her dubiously, she continued, "I mean, it wasn't anything serious. I was excited about the call, you were happy for me, and we...we just got caught up in the moment. It's cool."

Punk frowned as Nikki spoke, feeling sort of disappointed. He didn't know what he had expected, but he was certainly not expecting her to brush off the incident like that. Was she just trying to avoid awkwardness, or was she being serious? Either way, he couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment off.

Still, he nodded, "Yeah...yeah, that's exactly what I was going to say." Just as Nikki was about to leave, though, he asked, "But, there was something else. Did you, by any chance, talk to Maria last night? I mean, after the...you know." When Nikki looked uneasy, he knew what her answer was. Punk pursed his lips, before asking, "You wouldn't have maybe told her that you were going to, and I'm quoting here, 'steal her man', would you?" He frowned, not quite sure how he felt about, well, everything.

Nikki leaned against the door, grimacing slightly, as memories of last night came back...

*flashback*

Nikki walked out of the coat room, feeling slightly dizzy. Did she and Punk just kiss? That was certainly not in her plans tonight. But then again, neither was finally getting the call from OVW. She decided, for the time being, to focus on that, as she began scoping out the area for Stephen. Hopefully he wouldn't be with Paul, but if he was, well, Paul was just going to have to go away. She was done playing nice.

Nikki finally spotted Stephen, and was about to make her way over to him, when she was stopped by none other than Maria. The redhead was probably the last person Nikki wanted to see right now.

"Hey, Maria. Uhm, I have to go," she said, attempting to get past the woman, but Maria wasn't having it. She grabbed her upper arm, stopping Nikki from walking away. She raised an eyebrow slightly, asking, "Can I help you?"

Maria's eyes were kind of scary, as she said, "Yes, actually, you can. Start by maybe staying away from my boyfriend, alright?"

Nikki narrowed her eyes at her, wondering if Maria could have possibly seen what had happened a few minutes ago, but what the redhead said next sort of assured Nikki that she hadn't.

"Don't think I haven't noticed how you are around him, always giggling and practically throwing yourself at him," Maria said, "I saw the way you were looking at him earlier tonight when you two were dancing. Now, I don't like making scenes, so just keep your distance."

Nikki rolled her eyes, pulling herself away from Maria's grasp, "I didn't know being friendly was considered as 'throwing myself at him'. And it's a little difficult to keep my distance when I live in the same place, dear."

Maria obviously wasn't backing down, as she added, "That can be dealt with. After all, I'm sure there are other guys who would love to house a girl like you. It's kind of a great deal."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" asked Nikki, feeling insulted.

Maria sneered at her, "Want me to spell it out for you? You. Are. A. Slut. So stay away from my man."

Nikki smirked at Maria, laughing derisively, "It's better to be a friendly slut, than a bitchy prude. I'm sure Phil agrees; you should ask him."

What Nikki had not expected was Maria's palm connecting with her face, hard. She remained still for a moment, working on controlling her temper, as Maria said, "You're lucky the guys don't know what kind of person you really are. Just stay the hell away."

Nikki clenched her fists tightly by her side, working hard on maintaining her calm, "I'm not hiding anything. But if I were you, I'd watch my back, because you have no idea how fast I can leave you boyfriendless if I wanted to." She knew she shouldn't have said that, but if she was to physically restrain herself, she wasn't holding back verbally. Before Nikki turned to walk away, she spat out at Maria, "Bitch."

*end flashback*

Nikki looked back at Punk, although not making any eye contact, and replied, "I might have said a thing or two that could make her think that...yeah."

Punk was slightly confused now. He raised his eyebrow, "I'm just a little confused here...I thought you said the kiss was an accident..."

Nikki sighed, attempting to explain, "I was mad, and she slapped me, and I didn't want to make a scene, so I said things that I didn't necessarily mean." She didn't dare look at Punk straight up, because she was afraid that he could tell she was lying. The thing was, she didn't want to mess things up anymore than she already had. And she was confused about what exactly she wanted, so for now at least, she was going to go with the 'accident' excuse.

"She slapped you?" asked Punk, a little surprised. He sighed; he should have guessed it anyway. Maria had a temper.

This was all his fault, but he had no idea how to fix it. He had thought there was something there, between him and Nikki, but the girl was denying that, and he wasn't about to make a fool out of himself and say otherwise. Plus, he didn't know what to expect with Nikki; it was part of the allure of the idea of being with her. He didn't really know anything about how he would go about a relationship with her, and he didn't really know much about her either. It was all so intriguing, but it was also kind of scary. He knew what to expect with Maria; she was familiar, and he knew how to go about being her boyfriend. Then there was the fact that he really did care about her, and he didn't want to hurt her.

Punk stuck his hands in his pocket, asking, "Did you tell her about what happened? After you got the call?"

Nikki shook her head, saying quickly, "If you don't mind, I'd prefer you didn't." At Punk's look, she elaborated, "It'll just complicate things for you two, and frankly, I don't need the drama. Plus, it wasn't anything important, so...we can just, y'know, pretend it didn't happen?" A part of Nikki was hoping that Phil would say no, that he would insist on talking about it, but at the same time, the thought was kind of scary.

Punk nodded slowly, before closing his eyes, looking tired, "She's so mad. She wanted me to pack up and leave the apartment," He opened his eyes, adding, "Sorry about leaving you and Steve without a ride. How did you get back?"

She shrugged, "We walked, it wasn't too bad."

Nikki was sure that must be a masochist, as the next thing she said was, "If you want to patch things up with Maria, try surprising her. Take her out for brunch at some nice restaurant, or something. Buy her flowers. Just try something new." Nikki smiled softly, adding, "Girls like that stuff; makes her know you're thinking about her."

Punk laughed, nodding, "Alright, thanks for the advice. Sorry for keeping you late."

Nikki shook her head, heading out the door, "It's cool. See you later!"

After she closed the door behind her, Nikki rested her head back against the door, sighing. She had no idea how she was going to keep doing this, and keep her feelings in check. It did not help at all that she was getting mixed signals from Phil, and she was just plain confused about everything.

And that was why she hated relationships.


As Nikki and Phil spoke, Stephen had woken up, reluctantly so. He could hear them talking, and he wasn't very interested in what they had to say to each other, until he heard Punk saying 'the kiss was an accident'. That certainly managed to wake him up and get his attention. Steve swore under his breath; he knew Phil didn't know what he was doing, but who listens to Steve? No one, that was who.

After he heard the door closing, he figured one of them was gone; it was the perfect time to knock some sense into whoever was left. Steve sincerely hoped Phil was the one making the racket in the kitchen, and sure enough, as he went out there, his dark-haired bestfriend was making himself some coffee.

"So you kissed Nikki?" Steve began, going straight to the point, "Oh yes, that's totally what 'just friends' do. Me and you have quite the make out sessions, no?" His tone might have been sarcastic and slightly joking, but the frown on Steve's voice revealed how concerned he was.

Phil turned around, rolling his eyes, "I know you fantasize about it, but it's not gonna happen." He took a sip out of his cup, asking, "She told you?"

Steve shook his head, "No, actually, you did; I heard you two talking." He took a seat at the kitchen counter, adding more seriously, "Phil, I thought you said you had it under control. It's not like you to cheat, so I'm guessing you have no idea what you're doing."

Phil glared at him for a moment, remaining silent, before deciding that he did actually need to figure this out, and who better to help him than Stephen? He sighed, "It was an accident, and we didn't even talk about it; she made sure of that." Phil frowned, wondering what that was about. He wasn't the best at talking things out, but he would have endured it, if Nikki wanted to talk. He did it all the time with Maria.

Steve's frown deepened, "Yeah, I don't think Nicole is as open as she makes herself seem." He had noted that over the few months that she had been living here; whenever things got too personal, she often subtly changed the subject. He ran his fingers through his hair, glancing at Phil, "Let's worry about that later; what about you? Do you like her?"

Phil took his time, drinking his coffee and thinking, before he spoke, carefully wording his answer, "I enjoy spending time with her, perhaps a little bit more than I do other female friends...but I don't know if that's just because she's a really good friend, or if there's more to it." He looked frustrated, as he added, "And she's not helping much. I mean, she and Maria got in a fight, then all she told me was that it was 'nothing serious'"

Steve couldn't help but smirk at his friend at this point, saying, "Sounds like someone I know." He was obviously referring to Phil, but at the other guy's glare, he added, "Okay, okay. Have you considered the fact that maybe she's just confused? I mean, you are still dating Maria. How is she supposed to know you're into her?"

"Who said I was?" retorted Phil, getting annoyed.

"There, see. That right there; you're going back and forth, you don't know what you want! How is anyone else supposed to, man?" stated Steve. He shook his head, "You need to figure that out, before you end up hurting two wonderful girls just because you're scared."

Phil looked at his friend with surprise. Since when was Stephen the relationship expert, the sensitive guy? However, the guy did have a point. Phil pushed his hair back, "It would be a hell of a lot easier if I knew what's on Nikki's mind."

Don't get him wrong, Phil wasn't a shallow guy, but he still didn't want to break up with a perfectly lovely girl and find out that the other perfectly lovely girl was not interested in him. It would do more harm than good. The way Phil saw it, he would end up wrecking things all around; Maria would be hurt, his friendship with Nikki would be pretty rattled, if not destroyed, and Steve would sit around, grinning smugly because he was right.

He looked up at Steve at that point, another thought occurring to him, "She didn't say anything to you, did she? You guys talk all the time, she must have mentioned something!"

At this point, Steve began to feel uneasy. He had two choices: he could tell Phil the truth, and betray Nicole's trust in him, or he could pretend he knew nothing, and possibly end up letting Phil wreck everything. Either way, it was going to end badly, and Steve was sort of scared of Nicole.

"No, she hasn't really said anything," he lied. As Phil rolled his eyes, cursing under his breath, he added, "Sorry bud. Where are you going?"

Phil had finished his coffee, and was heading to the door, "I'm going to see my girlfriend."

Steve couldn't help it, he really couldn't, as he asked, with an amused grin, "Which one?"

Phil sent him a glare, "That is not funny." Without further ado, he left, slamming the door behind him.

Stephen shook his head; why did he have to be the only semi-normal person in this place? In the meantime, however, he had other things to attend to. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, dialing a number. Once the person on the other end of the line answered, Steve spoke, "Hey, it's Stephen Nichols. I was wondering if that house you told me about before is still available? I'd like to see it."


Maria and Punk were walking around the city, having just left some strange restaurant after lunch. He glanced at his girlfriend, relieved to see that Nikki's advice sort of worked; Maria looked pretty content. He could tell that she was still slightly annoyed, but at least she wasn't going on and on about how he needed to come stay with her. As they walked, Maria's cell went off.

"Hello?"

Phil leaned against a brick wall, waiting for her, not really listening to what she was saying, until she began describing where they were to whoever was on the phone with her. Once she was done, he asked, "Who was that?"

Maria looked mildly puzzled, but not too concerned, "Steve. He said he wants to show us something. He'll be here in a few."

Phil frowned, "What do you think he's up to?"

Maria shrugged, "I don't know, but it's Steve. He probably got bored, and wants company." They both laughed lightly, waiting.

Finally, Steve's silver Mercedes appeared, and stopped in front of them. Maria grinned, saying as she hurriedly walked towards the car, "I call shotgun!"

But as she glanced inside, she spotted Nikki sitting at the back, apparently busy with her phone. Maria backed out, "Actually, why don't you take the passenger seat, Phil?"

Phil frowned, but then he shrugged; it was no big deal. After they got in the car, it made a little more sense. He suppressed a sigh, but he did give Maria a look that said 'Really?', to which she defiantly shrugged. He rolled his eyes, turning to address Steve, "What are you up to?"

"Hello Phillip, yes, I had a lovely day too, thanks for asking," replied Steve sarcastically. "We're going to see a friend of mine. Nicole, you're going to go cross-eyed, stop playing on your phone."

The blonde looked up, grinning, "Well, tell me where we're going and I'll have something else to think about."

Stephen chuckled, "Why don't you tell us how the OVW thing went?"

At this, Maria piped in, sounding surprised, "You got in?"

Nikki sent the redhead a cold look, before replying casually, "Yep. I debut on January the 17th, as some Mike guy's valet."

Phil joined in, asking, "Mike Mizanin?" He snorted, "Luck is for losers, but you might need it with that guy's ego."

Nikki shrugged, "I can handle it. Plus, I get to play a devious airhead who cheats on him; it's gonna be fun."

Maria rolled her eyes, unable to resist commenting, "Oh, so they're going with a more realistic portrayal? That's new."

Nikki flashed Maria a glare, saying sarcastically, "Ha ha. You're just so damn witty and funny, aren't you?"

Phil and Steve shared a look, before deciding to stay out of this, for the time being at least.

Maria smirked, unfazed by Nikki's sarcasm, and added, "You might want to get used to it; you'll be seeing a lot of me for a while." When the other girl glanced at her, puzzled, Maria added, "Oh, the guys didn't tell you? I've been transferred to OVW for the next three to four months, possibly longer."

Nikki managed to maintain a calm exterior, but inside she really just wanted to punch something in. She shrugged, "Oh, how wonderful!"

The four of them lapsed into silence, as Steve drove. After ten minutes of driving, Maria asked, impatiently, "Are we there yet?"

Steve responded calmly, "Almost. Patience, Miss Kanellis, patience."

Maria rolled her eyes, "It's a little difficult; the backseat reeks of slut."

Nikki's jaw tightened, as she glared at Maria. Phil turned around, and said, "Maria, come on, give it a break, please."

"Okay, I get it; you don't like me, you think I'm a slut," replied Nikki, losing patience quickly, "I get it, so just stop already."

"Stop trying to steal my boyfriend," retorted Maria fiercly, not showing any sign of backing down any time soon.

Just as both Phil and Nikki were about to speak, Stephen announced loudly, "Oh look, we're here!"

Fortunately, that did manage to distract the three of them, just before either Nikki or Maria ripped off the other girl's head. Before the car fully came to a stop, Nikki opened her door, waiting a few seconds before she got out, slamming the door behind her angrily. She marched to the front door of the bungalow they stopped at, and rang the bell.

Stephen followed her, placing a hand on the small of her back; she completely ignored him. Punk and Maria followed silently. No one said a thing, until a middle-aged man opened the door.

"Stephen Nichols! You're early; Joseph would be proud," said the man.

Steve greeted him with a hug, replying, "Tell him that next time you see him, will you? My father seems to think I'm a lazy slob." He laughed, as the man let them in. Steve gestured at his friends, saying, "Guys, this is Lance Kingston; he's a friend of my father. Lance, this Phillip Brooks, Maria Kanellis, and Nicole Valentine."

Lance shook hands with each of them, "Nice to meet you. Alright, I'm sure you'll find the place is in pretty excellent shape, my brother-in-law and his family are the only people who lived here, and they were here for less than a year."

Nikki frowned, interrupting Lance, "Wait, what are you talking about?" She turned to face Steve, with an accusing expression on her face, asking, "Why are we here?"

Steve laughed nervously, and took a few steps back, explaining, "Well, you see, after you told me about the OVW stuff, and I knew Maria was staying for a while, I figured we probably need a bigger place to live." By that time, he was standing behind Lance, "I mean, it's not expensive at all. Between the four of us, it would actually be quite affordable, plus, the view is simply excellent!"

Lance began chuckling, as he stepped away from Steve, "He didn't tell you? That sound more like him." He glanced at Steve, then at the three others, "How about I leave you four to talk? I'll be in the kitchen, just call me when you're ready to see the rest of the house."

Once Lance left, Stephen cleared his throat, "Surprise? Come on, guys, it's a good idea!"

Maria's arms were crossed, as she said, "Really? The four of us, living together?" She directed her glare to Nikki this time, "I'd be down with it, if she wasn't around."

"Believe me, I don't want to be anywhere near you either," replied Nikki. "I'm sorry Steve, but that's a no from me."

Phil, who was looking around the living room, approached the rest of them, saying, much to Steve's obvious relief, "I actually don't think it's such a bad idea. The place is pretty big, and it looks nice. How many rooms?"

"Three rooms, one bathroom upstairs, the other right around the corner, a well-equipped kitchen, not to mention a lovely backyard, and, as you saw, a pretty nice patio," Steve rattled off the information like it was sitting at the tip of his tongue. He glanced at the girls, "Come on, ladies. It's a good deal! Maria, you and Punkster will have your own room, and Nikki, you'll have yours too without neatfreak over here telling you how to organize it."

Maria looked slightly mollified. She liked the idea of her and Phil's room alone, plus, she could keep a better watch on Nikki too. Still, she didn't say anything, even when Phil squeezed her hand, looking at her questioningly.

"Let's see the rest of the house," said Nikki shortly.

Steve nodded, and practically skipped his way to the kitchen, returning with Lance. They proceeded then to see the rest of the house for the next twenty minutes. After that, Lance was speaking to Maria and Steve about the rooms, while Nikki absently made her way to the backyard.

She stood there silently, observing the place, without really thinking about anything. At the sound of footsteps, she glanced over her shoulders, and spotted Punk making his way toward her. She kind of didn't want him to come, at least not right this moment, but, you don't always get what you want.

Punk came to stand next to her, "Hey."

She glanced at him briefly, replying, "Hi."

When she didn't say anything else, Punk gently placed a hand on her shoulder, and tried to get her to look at him, "I'm sorry about earlier. Maria's just getting a little possessive."

Nikki gave him a cold, unfamiliar look that was kind of new to Punk, and said, "Whatever, she has the right, I suppose." With that, she pulled her shoulder away from him, and went back into the house.

Punk stared after her for a moment, slightly taken aback by her attitude. She wasn't usually cold and indifferent like that; obviously Maria had pushed her too much. Or was it him? She did kind of act like she blamed him. But he really wasn't trying to cause any problems between her and Maria. This was slowly turning into what Stephen had predicted; God, Punk hated when Steve was right.

"Punkster, come on in, will ya?" yelled Stephen, poking his head out the kitchen window.

Punk entered to find Maria and Lance looking at some papers, while Steve looked like he was about to bounce off the walls, and Nikki sat on top of the kitchen counter, watching the scene with a bored expression on her face.

Lance looked up at Punk, smiling, "Alright, all four of you are here. So, Phillip, your lady friends have both agreed, and I think we all know Stephen's answer. What's your say?"

Punk looked at each of his friends, before nodding, "Awesome. I'm in. When do we get to move in?"

At that, Steve literally jumped in excitement, and the rest of them laughed. Lance gave them each lease papers, and invited them for dinner, as a little form of celebration.

By the time they left, the mood was certainly a lot lighter than when they came. However, as Steve stopped to drop off Maria and Punk at her hotel, the redhead glanced at Nikki defiantly, to which the other girl simply rolled her eyes.

Steve saw the small interaction, and as he drove back home, he began to first have doubts about this whole living all together thing. Will it make one of these ladies a murderer? Worse, will it make him or Punk a victim of a murder?

Women were crazy.


A/N:

So, now Nikki and Maria aren't getting along wonderfully well, lol. Tell me what you think of the tension between them. I'm trying really hard to not make either girl the 'bad' one, but I might not be doing so well. Oh well.

As always, thanks to all the reviewers, and readers, past and new!

HeldAtRansom && EmilieCW-DXfan0119: thanks for reviewing! I'm so glad you guys are liking it.

Please review; they make me smile and feel suuupeeeerr happy -lameiknowiknow-