Anxiety was high in the U.S. Cellular Arena as seven FCW wrestlers were set to make their debut as NXT rookies. The popularity of the show had dwindled ever since Wade Barrett had won the first season. Vince had assembled a group of "must see" superstars to mentor this new group of talent. Stu and Heath were also working on their own angle involving the split of their stable, The Corre. Vince knew that by having the two members mentor competing rookies, they could play this up on NXT and Smackdown.

Stu and Heath sat in The Corre's locker room along side their rookies. Hector was lacing up his boots, 50 Cent blaring out of his headphones; Heath was nursing a protein bar; and Stu was struggling to think of more ways to psych up Tim for his NXT debut.

Stu pointed at Heath. "Whatever advice he gives Hector, I want you to ignore it. It's probably rubbish," Stu advised. Tim high-fived Stu while Heath gave him the stink eye. "Come on, Miller, I want the groups break up to be convincing."

Tim was finding it hard to contain his nervous energy. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt while his legs bounced up and down with excitement. "When do we find out what the challenges for tonight are?"

"When you're in the ring." Heath responded.

Tim took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "It's almost time," Stu informed him. "Let's go for a quick walk." Tim and Stu exited the locker room and started walking towards gorilla. "Remember what I told you. Speak slowly and deliberately. Do whatever you can to get the crowd against you whether thats cheap heat comments like "Milwaukee sucks!" or extending an attack longer than you should. You know what you're doing out there."

"Thanks, man. I got this." Tim felt a sense of relief. The long walk from the locker room to the gorilla position was littered with various super stars and backstage personnel all sizing him up.

"You'll wait here until they call for you." Stu pulled out his phone and began sorting through his phone book. "I'm going to make a quick call." Stu walked around the corner for a little privacy. He didn't want Tim becoming more involved in his relationship. Tim's attitude towards Melissa had already put Stu off enough as it was.

"Hey!" It had been almost two days since Melissa had spoken to Stu. She was sitting in front of her lap top at home ready to load the live feed for NXT. "How's my favorite Englishman?"

Stu smiled at the sound of her voice. "Wonderful, darling. Are you tuned in?"

"Yes. This is so exciting. Is Tim nervous?" Melissa was nervous for the both of them. She was hoping Stu was going to do the right thing and help put Tim over.

"A little bit." Stu walked around the corner to see if Tim was still waiting by gorilla. "I'm a tad nervous for him."

Melissa dismissed his concern. "Don't be. He'll be fine. He's a big boy."

"Right, but he's a reflection on me." Stu agreed with her claim, but he was wondering what this was going to do for his career. He was already over as a heel. Belittling someone that was more powerful or represented themselves as a bigger heel than him might turn him in to a face. They needed to work together to solidify both of their places in the WWE. "Mel, I need to continue to work hard to stay over. You know that."

"You're right. Best of luck to both of you. I'll be watching."

Shockingly, the first challenge for the NXT rookies was the "Talk the Talk Challenge." Each rookie was given 30 seconds to talk about a topic. Tim was given "candy" as a suggestion. He confidently spoke about how decimating the WWE roster would be so easy, "it would be like stealing candy from a baby." Hector had done surprisingly well also. For a man of few words, Hector came in just behind Tim with a promo inspired by the word "photograph." The biggest pop came from the line "Look out, fellas, I'm going to be all over your ladies walls soon. She'll be thinking of me the whole time."

"Well done, Miller," Stu stated while applauding for Hector. "Something tells me that you had nothing to do with that though." He smiled sheepishly. "Am I right?"

"Dude, I don't know where that came from," Heath was astonished by his rookie's performance.
Matt Striker took to the center of the ring. "Coming up next on NXT, we have our first Pro/Rookie tag team match. Wade Barrett and his rookie Tim Drake against Derrick Jones and the Big Show."

The Corre's music hit to a pop of "boos" from the audience. Wade Barrett sauntered down to the ring, his hands gripped firmly on his Intercontinental title, and looking more smug than ever. Not only did he learn how to be a better all around performer from Chris Jericho, but he also knew how to play to the crowd as a pro. "You're just jealous!" he yelled to his less than adoring fans. He patted Tim on the back, congratulating him on a job well done before handing his title to the ref. Big Show stood in the corner with his rookie Derrick making eyes at the former bare knuckle champ and his fresh meat.

Big Show was fired up, waiting for Barrett and his rookie to decide who would get things started. Barrett was ready to rehash his previous feud with Big Show, but decided a better, and more heel like move, would be to have Tim start things off with the worlds largest athlete.

Tim charged at Show with gusto, but was immediately knocked back with a shoulder block. Show picked Tim up by the hair and threw him in the corner where he applied three consecutive chest slaps that echoed throughout the arena. Tim was doubled over in pain, his hand shielding his chest from Show's monster hands. Barrett held on to the rope with a bored look on his face. Turning his attention from Barrett, Show hit Tim with a head butt, knocking him down hard on the mat. Show had definitely put his rookie in a great position to tag in.

Tim wobbled to his feet as Derrick bounced off the hopes, grabbing Tim's head and slamming him in to the mat. Derrick went for the cover. The ref counted "One...Two..." but Tim kicked out at the last second. Barrett was lackadaisically cheering for his rookie to be successful. Derrick irish whipped Tim in to the ropes and hit him with a clothes line knocking him down even harder on the mat. Derrick climbed to the top rope to apply the flying elbow, one of Barrett's signature moves, but Tim rolled out of the way just as Derrick was about to come crashing down. Both rookies laid out in the ring, lifeless. Eventually, both men started slowly crawling to tag the hands of their pros.

Barrett and Show were tagged in simultaneously by their rookies. Barrett instantly went at Show with the big boot, but Show grabbed his foot, and pushed him to the mat. Barrett jumped up and the two men circled around each other waiting for the right opportunity to present itself. The two athletes lunged at each other crushing their foreheads together and locking arms. Show pushed Barrett in to the ropes which gave Wade the leverage he needed to apply a devastating clothesline knocking Big Show down to the ground. Barrett started thrusting his heavy, booted foot along the Big Shows torso causing him to spasm on the mat. Once the giant lay still, Barrett made the tag, Tim made the pin, and Rookie and Pro celebrated their victory in the ring together. Wade raised his Intercontinental title high showing the world why he was yet again victorious.

Melissa jumped from her seat when Tim scored the victory. She was proud of both mens flawless performance. She picked up her phone and shot Stu a text Very entertaining, gentlemen! Brava!

Even though it was only 9:30, Melissa crawled in to bed. Questions of uncertainty had been keeping her up the past few nights. She planned to tell Stu about her previous relationship with Tim tomorrow. Ryan was right. She was blowing this out of proportion. Per usual, her anxiety was getting the best of her and her mind was racing a million miles a minute. She took a deep breath before closing her eyes and attempting to get one night of sound sleep.

Ben was replacing the punching bag in the gym when Melissa arrived for work the next morning. "You look exhausted, Mel. Is everything okay?" Melissa was exhausted. She had spent last night tossing and turning thinking about how Stu would react to her news.

"Just couldn't get comfortable last night," Melissa yawned. She held up her iced coffee like a trophy. "but I'll be ok." She continued towards her office.

"Mel, I need to speak to you when you have a sec. Are you free now, actually?" He let the punching bag fall to the ground. "I need to get one of the guys to help me with this anyway," Melissa nodded. "Let's walk and talk, shall we?" They started ambulating towards the hallway containing their offices. "I'm sure Stu told you about the European tour we have coming up. Usually at our Smackdown and Raw tapings we have two wardrobe designers on hand, but for the European shows, we have to split them up since they both tape in different cities. Headquarters has asked if you'd be interested in going as a back up for the Smackdown taping."

The smile on Melissa's face reached from ear to ear. "Obviously! That's an amazing opportunity."

"Great. I figured that you would say 'yes,'" Brian shook her hand. Melissa's prediction of her future with Stu hadn't been far off. She was quickly working her way up the ranks. "You should also know that everyone has been very pleased with the work that you're doing. Depending on how you handle yourself this trip, you'll probably be next in line when a spot opens."

They stood at the doorway of Melissa's office. "Thanks, Ben. I'm sure your kind words have helped."

Melissa settled in to begin her day. Another torn vest sat on her desk with a note from Ryan simply stating Sorry, Mel. She had to laugh. What the hell was Ryan doing to these vests where they were constantly getting destroyed? He doesn't even wear them when he wrestles.

"Hello gorgeous," Mel turned around to see Stu standing there.

"Stu!" Melissa ran over to him and jumped in his arms. He was dying to see Melissa and made Heath stop by FCW on their way home from the airport. "I'm so happy to see you!" She was holding on to him for dear life and he returned the grip. "I have some awesome news to tell you!" Seeing Stu walk in to her office put her over the moon. She had a great job and a wonderful man. "I'm coming on tour with you guys to Europe! Ben asked me to help with wardrobe!"

"That's wonderful news, love!" Even though Stu already knew, he acted surprised. He had said something to Ben about making sure she would be put on the Smackdown tour so they could be together. He wanted her meet his family and friends, show her all his old haunts, and spend more than two days in her company. "We should celebrate tonight."

"I'd love that," Melissa bit her lip. It was now or never. "Do you have a few minutes right now?"

"Sure, but I think we're going to need more time to celebrate appropriately," he winked at her. Melissa knew she owed it to him. He sat down in the spare chair in her office.

"I need to talk to you about something," Melissa leaned back in front of her desk. She folded her arms and looked down at the ground.

Stu was concerned. "Everything else okay?"

Melissa spoke slowly. "I think so...I'm afraid I haven't been totally upfront with you." Stu sat back in the chair. Melissa took a deep breath and looked at him. "I really should've said something to you sooner, but it just got away from me."

"I'm sure it's not that bad. Just spit it out, Mel." Stu was trying to be encouraging, but he had a hard time being empathetic.

"Tim and I dated," she spat out. "It didn't go on long." Melissa sighed deeply. "He was actually also dating someone else. I didn't know that detail at the time." Stu looked down at the ground and rubbed his face. He didn't say anything, which kept Melissa talking. "Like I said, it was very brief. I didn't know he was moving down here. He didn't know I had left and..."

Stu was clearly trying to collect his thoughts. "Okay...okay...how long ago was this?" He was remaining surprisingly calm.

Melissa looked down and licked her lips. "I ended it about two months ago."

"Two months? That's not a very long time," Stu was stoic. He appeared to be contemplating his next question. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Her voice was mousy. "We were so new and I didn't want to give you any sense of doubt about where we stood."

Stu shut the door to her office and walked towards her. "So you just...completely neglected to inform me?" He clenched his hands into a fist. Stu was furious. He had trusted Melissa implicitly. Now he had reason to doubt everything else she had told him.

Melissa's eyes met his. "I didn't think he would become a part of our lives."

"You're right, Mel! You didn't think!" He turned away from her and walked towards the door. "Is there anything else you have to say?"

Melissa swallowed hard, her voice was still quiet. She was surprised at his reaction. "I'll tell you anything you want to know."

Stu laughed. "Really? And I should believe you?"

Melissa was starting to become frustrated. "I didn't lie to you, I just never told you."

"Oh! Like that's any better!" Stu was screaming at her. Melissa was afraid that everyone in the gym could hear them. Luckily, it was still early in the morning. Stu shoved his finger in her face, Melissa looked away. "What else are you keeping from me?"

"Absolutely nothing," She was getting choked up. "Like I said, it just got away from me."

Stu quickly cut her off. "What was he doing on the porch with you that night?"

"Making sure I was okay, I guess. I went out there alone. He followed me. Ask Ryan."

"Ryan knows about this!" This pushed Stu over the edge. Melissa nodded realizing it that moment it was best to keep everyone else out of this. "You told Ryan before me?"

"He approached me while you guys were away this weekend and told me I should tell you." Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "It just never seemed like a good time. I can promise you, Stu, that there is absolutely nothing going on between Tim and I. I feel nothing towards him, but you..." she wiped her eyes."

He didn't want to hear what pathetic comparison she was going to give him. "So, you needed someone else to tell you to tell me?"

Mel chocked back her tears. "No, I just.."

Stu leaned in close. "...just what?"

She threw her hands in the air in surrender. "Fucked up...Big time." Melissa reached up and grabbed his face, turning him to look at her. "There is absolutely nothing going on between Tim and I or anyone else, for that matter, but you needed to know. I absolutely should have told you sooner." Her eyes started filling up again with tears when she saw the hurt on his face. "And I am very, very sorry that I didn't."

Stu wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She sobbed into his shirt. He ran his hands through her hair and kissed the top of her head. He wasn't quite sure what to think of all this. He knew Melissa wasn't a malicious person. Stu thought back over the last few weeks. She had been reserved when speaking of Tim. She tried her best to keep Tim out of her life - out of their life. When Tim started becoming involved, she attempted to accept it. Stu wondered if it was because she was trying to protect his feelings about the past or Tim's feelings about her future with Stu.

"I can't be here right now..." Stu let go of Melissa and walked out the door.

Do you think he's overreacting? How will he act towards Tim? How will the trip to Europe go?

Thank you all again for the helpful feedback! This is the first story I've ever done and you're making it such a fun experience. Per usual, feel free to share your thoughts. I hope you're still enjoying the story.