I'm back peeps! Apologies for the delay; life, work, and lots of live wrestling have kept me from getting in much writing. I'm working on getting better and I have updates half done for my other 2 active stories. This isn't my most eventful update but I promise, business is about to pick up! As always, Read, Enjoy, Review! I'd love to hear some thoughts on guests/challenges you'd like to see on the show. I have plenty planned but I'm open to new ideas and inspiration!

The next morning…

Elle stared at the underside of her blanket, missing the early days in the house when no one tried to wake her up.

Her peaceful oasis was no more.

Someone was knocking on the door and she didn't know exactly what time it was but she was sure that it was too early for her to be awake. She'd been up half the night talking with some of the girls after a near fight broke out between Emily and one of the quieter ones. When she finally did get to sleep, she had a strange dream where she and Mia were bare knuckle boxing. She was just getting to the good part when the stupid knocking started.

Abigail was draped across the foot of Elle's bed, snoring loudly, her arm hanging over the side. Jules and Harper were both curled up in Harper's bed.

Sure, they kept her up all night and now they were sleeping like it was their job.

Bitches.

She had half a mind to wake them all up. They were lucky she liked them.

The knocking persisted and Elle shoved her blanket away from her face, "Go away!"

It was probably one of the poor, innocent cameramen but they picked the wrong day to bother her. They were about to feel her sleepy wrath.

She kicked the covers the rest of the way off and scrambled out of bed, stomping over to the door and yanking it open, "What?!"

"I was just about to ask if you were decent," Seth stood on the other side, smiling at her.

Of course it was Seth. Of course. He looked all perfect and showered and stupid handsome and she wasn't even wearing pants. How long was it going to take for her to learn to sleep in pants?

"Hey," she laughed anxiously, tugging at the hem of her New Day t-shirt. She didn't know why she bothered. The shirt covered maybe half of her ass. She would just have to refrain from turning around. "What are you doing here?"

"Watching you try to pull that shirt down," he smirked. "It's okay, you don't have to cover up on my account."

She was not about to prance around with her ass hanging out in front of him. Normally she didn't care who saw her. She walked around her apartment naked with the blinds open whenever she felt the urge but that was different. At home, she didn't know who was looking and she didn't care. Here, she knew exactly who was looking and he made her nervous.

"We're taping our UpUpDownDown episode this morning," Seth reminded her. "I'm here to pick you up."

"Oh, shit, I completely forgot," she ran a hand through her hair, clutching it at the crown of her head. "I'm so sorry. Last night was a mess. I didn't sleep very well."

"It's okay," he assured her. "Can you be ready to go in 20 minutes? You can tell me all about last night on the way."

"20 minutes?" she stared. She went through her normal morning routine in her head. He was leaving her about 40 minutes short.

"Seth?" Abigail's voice sounded over Elle's shoulder and she looked over at the blonde, laughing when she saw the stunned look on her face. She tried to run a hand through her messy hair and use the other to wipe the sleep away from her eyes. She quickly gave up and pulled Elle's blanket to cover her face, "Oh my God, you cannot be here right now."

Jules stirred, tumbling out of the bed when she saw Seth. She scrambled over, hiding behind Abigail, "Holy shit. What are you doing here?"

At least Elle wasn't the only one..

"Ladies, no need to worry," Seth gave them a charming smile. "You all look beautiful."

Harper was still asleep, snoring with her mouth wide open. Maybe not her most beautiful moment.

"Elle..20 minutes okay?" he drew her attention back to him.

"If it has to be," she shrugged, trying to decide what she could cut. She didn't always wear a lot of makeup so she wasn't concerned with that. It was her love of long showers and skincare routine that she was worried about.

"It does," he laughed. "And believe me; you don't need more than that. You already look beautiful. It shouldn't take much."

Did he have to be so smooth? He clearly had a lot of practice charming women right out of their panties.

"Thank you," she smiled, ignoring the fluttering feeling in her stomach. "I'll meet you downstairs in 20."

"Deal," he smiled. He waved at the other women in the room, "I'll see you later ladies."

As he made his exit, Elle closed the door, leaning against it. She tapped her fingernails against the wood, looking up at the ceiling. God help her, she was actually looking forward to this. Seth was fun, easy to talk to, and even easier to look at. She'd stupidly guaranteed herself another week in the house, she might as well enjoy it before it was time to get back to reality and her Hulu password stealing boyfriend.

"You lucky bitch," Abigail lowered the blanket. "You realize that you're getting the first solo date, right?"

"It's not a date," Elle insisted, walking over to her suitcase. "What am I supposed to wear to this?"

"Keep it casual," Jules explained.

"It is absolutely a date," Abigail insisted. "You're the first one of us that gets to leave the house with Seth without any of the other women around. That's a date."

"We aren't going to be alone," Elle shrugged, holding up shorts and a black and white striped crop top. Jules nodded her approval and Abigail held up both thumbs.

Harper rolled over, clutching her pillow, eyes still closed.

"Do we need to wake her up?" Jules asked.

"She had a lot of wine last night," Elle waved. They finished a few more bottles when they got back to the house. "Best to let her sleep it off."

"Can we talk about him telling you how good you look in the morning?" Jules swooned, putting her hand over her heart. "Fuck you for that by the way. How do you wake up looking like a Disney princess while I look like I just got into a fight with a hairbrush?"

"Neither of those things are true," Elle rolled her eyes. Seth was right, they did all look good. In fact, Elle thought Jules actually looked even better without makeup, even with her Medusa situation happening on her head..

While they discussed how mortified they were, she excused herself to take a lightning fast shower before heading into the glam room. She was trying to figure out what to do with her hair when Mia waltzed in with Emily and another minion. They couldn't have known that Seth was in the house. There was no way they wouldn't have thrown on the nearest silk gown and run downstairs to shove their heads up his ass.

"Since when do you get up early?" Mia made a face, understandably surprised to see Elle.

"Just felt like getting up," Elle shrugged, deciding to save Seth the trouble of dealing with them for a little while longer. She ran her brush through her thick hair and then twisted half up into a top knot.

"I could barely sleep last night," Mia mused. "Coming into the house was like walking on a cloud."

"I'm so jealous," Emily sighed. "Of course you got to be the first one."

Elle wasn't trying to listen to their conversation but, as usual, they talked like they were on stage playing to the cheap seats.

"It was amazing," Mia said as Elle looked through her lipstick options. "Top 5 I've ever had, for sure."

Elle sighed, resting her chin on her hand, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh you haven't heard yet?" Emily laughed.

"Heard from where? I've been awake for less than 20 minutes," she narrowed her eyes. "What is it that you so obviously want to talk about?"

Mia gave a devilish smile but Emily was the one to answer, "Mia kissed Seth last night."

Seth was surrounded by women as he sat on the couch waiting for Elle. There were still girls that he'd barely spoken to at this point and he was trying to get to know them but he had to admit, they weren't the most interesting. One that he was intrigued by was Kai. She was beautiful and exotic. She had a quiet confidence about her that he appreciated. She didn't jump on him the moment she saw him like some of the girls but she didn't shy away from him either. She walked into the room holding a cup of coffee and gave him a sweet smile, "I didn't know you were here."

"I just got here," he explained. "Elle and I have to go shoot the rest of her prize from yesterday."

"She's a lucky girl," Kai smiled. "I heard everyone had a lot of fun on the date. I hope I get to go on the next one."

Seth grinned, "I hope you do too."

They talked for a few minutes about wine and she giggled at how much he disliked most of what they had at the winery. He checked his watch. Elle had 5 minutes left and there was no sign of her. Jules, Abigail, and a zombified Harper had just made their way downstairs. Poor Harper was dead asleep when he went up earlier; he thought he might not see her until elimination.

"Seth, do you want any coffee?" Abigail offered and he considered taking her up on it but he'd already had some on the way to the house and they would be leaving soon so he declined. Once the trio was done in the kitchen, they came into the living room and poor Harper looked like she wanted to die.

"How you doing there Champ?" he asked, giving her a quick hug.

"It is so bright in here," she drawled, shielding her eyes. "I'm so sorry I didn't wake up earlier."

"You don't need to be," he assured her, patting her on the back. "You take all the sleep you can get."

He looked toward the stairs and smiled when he saw Elle walking down, "There she is."

She gave him a closed lipped smile when she reached the room and he was confused. She seemed happy to see him earlier. What could possibly have happened in 15 minutes?

"You ready to go?" he asked, walking closer to her.

"Yup," she nodded, turning to Harper with a look of concern, "Make sure you drink lots of water today and take some aspirin."

"I will. Have fun this morning," Harper smiled gratefully.

"Bring him back in one piece," Jules joked.

"I'll do my best," Elle laughed. They both said their goodbyes and he held the front door open for her, noting that she still had a little bit of a limp. He offered his arm to help her down the front stairs but she smiled politely, "I'm okay. Thanks."

"Is everything okay?" he asked, catching up with her.

"Of course," she nodded. "Everything's fine."

Daisy waited near the door, watching to make sure that Elle and Seth were safely on their way. When their SUV pulled away, she moved from her spot near the door. She had a busy day and the first thing on the agenda was a conversation with Abigail. She wasn't excited for it but this was all a part of the job.

She found the blonde lounging on the couch watching as Jules selected a program on the WWE Network.

"Texas, can I talk to you for just a sec?" she waved her over. Once they found a quiet spot, she gave the young woman a sympathetic smile. "I just wanted to check in with you. You looked a little upset yesterday when Elle didn't pick you for the date."

"I was a little disappointed," Abigail sighed. "But I understood. I mean, she said it was your idea and you guys are the bosses."

"My idea?" Daisy frowned. "Elle said I made her pick Mia?"

"Yeah. She said that was why you talked after she won the challenge."

"I was talking to her about the date but I was just as surprised as you were that she didn't pick you," Daisy put on an earnest expression, shaking her head. "I thought you guys were getting close."

Abigail's eyes narrowed as she considered Daisy's words. She looked unsure and Daisy reached out, patting her on the arm, "I don't know why she would say that to you. I'm sorry. You know that I'm here for all of you. It's my job to have your back. I guess Elle just didn't want you to know the real reason she didn't pick you."

Daisy was the one who recruited Abigail. A huge part of her job was making sure that the girls trusted her, even if they shouldn't. She had to keep them all on her side. After a few years in reality TV, she'd gotten pretty damn good.

Abigail sighed, looking deflated, "The real reason?"

"My guess is that she didn't pick you because she sees you as more of a threat than Harper and she didn't want you getting all of Seth's attention," Daisy offered.

"Maybe," the Texan still looked conflicted. "I don't know though. It just doesn't seem like her. And I haven't gotten that much time with Seth, especially not as much as her. I don't know why she would be threatened."

"You're gorgeous," Daisy reminded her. "And I've seen the way Seth looks at you. You may not have gotten much time yet but you're gonna go far in this thing. We all know it. Our EP thinks you're gonna be in the final 2."

"Really?"

No. The show's executive producer thought she would be gone within the next 2 weeks but she wasn't about to tell Abigail that, "Really. You just need to make sure you keep your head in the game. You aren't here to make friends. You're here to win, right?"

"Right," Abigail nodded, squaring her shoulders like the pageant queen she was. Daisy smiled at the sign of confidence.

"Listen, Abs, I won't lie to you. Seth obviously likes Elle so he probably wouldn't take kindly to someone outright confronting her…but you need to keep your guard up," Daisy advised. "And pick your moment. There will be a time when you can return the favor."

The limo ride was quiet. They made some conversation but the vibe was wildly different from the night before. She was more like herself once they met up with E, Kofi, and Xavier. Kofi's wife was a fan of her on General Hospital and didn't believe her husband when he told her Elle was on the show so Elle agreed to FaceTime her. They filmed their game, playing WWE2K17. He selected himself, of course, and she chose Brock Lesnar and came surprisingly close to beating him. He managed to come out on top and they had fun but the whole time he could tell that something was just…off.

Jim took her out of the room to film an interview and as soon as the door closed, he had 3 sets of judgmental eyes on him.

"What did you do to Lil' E?" Big E questioned.

"She seems mad, right?" he asked, relieved that he wasn't imagining things. He had a lot of practice with women being mad at him. He was usually pretty good at picking up the signs.

"Oh she's pissed at you," Kofi laughed.

"Super pissed," Xavier agreed. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Seth shrugged, confused. "I thought everything was good."

"Well it's not," Big E scoffed. "And knowing you, you did something."

"Why's it gotta be me?" Seth laughed.

"In Seth's defense, the girl is basically competing to win Seth so he should get a little leeway," Xavier said. "But in her defense, Seth is Seth so…"

"Thanks man," Seth said dryly.

The conversation halted when Elle returned with Jim who explained they needed to get back to the house and the former tag champs had a flight to catch. They all exchanged warm goodbyes.

"Keep him in line for us," Kofi requested when he hugged Elle. She smiled and laughed, promising to try.

When they were in the back of their car on the way back to the house, he looked over at her, "You know you can tell me if something is bothering you, right?"

"I don't know why you think anything is bothering me," she shrugged.

For an actress, she wasn't very convincing.

"Yesterday you were holding my hand and now you don't seem to want to be in the car with me," he explained, sure to keep his tone neutral. He wasn't mad and he didn't want it to come across that way. He just wanted to know what was wrong.

"I heard you did a lot more than hand holding yesterday," she shrugged, looking out the window.

He frowned, confused, "What?"

"With Mia," she turned to him with an amused smile, "Or was it so bad that you don't remember? That would not surprise me."

The kiss. He wouldn't say he'd forgotten about it but he was with Elle. It wasn't top of mind.

Apparently it was for her.

His mouth spread into a big smile and he laughed, pointing at her, "You're jealous."

"What?" she yelped. She gave a haughty laugh, "I am not jealous. Why on Earth would I be jealous?"

"I warned you yesterday," he reminded her. "You have a crush on me."

"I am not the one with the crush here, Rollins," she declared, though she couldn't look him in the eye.

She wasn't the only one. That much was true.

"She kissed me, just so you know," he announced.

"I don't need to know the details," she put her hands up. "It's really none of my business."

"If you thought it was none of your business, you wouldn't have brought it up," Seth said. "And don't try to say you didn't bring it up because you are definitely the one who brought it up."

Seth felt like a kid in a candy store. He loved having the upper hand and he had no idea how to be gracious about it.

"Okay, maybe I did bring it up," she shrugged. "It doesn't mean anything. I just…question your taste if that's who you want to make out with."

"We didn't make out," Seth clarified. "It was one kiss and I am deeply flattered that it bothered you so much."

"You are insufferable," she laughed. He got the impression that she felt a little silly for letting the kiss bother her. Selfishly, he was glad to know that it had.

He lifted her hand from the seat between them, winking at her, "I like you too."

"I do not like you," she insisted, rolling her eyes. She couldn't hide the smile quirking up the corner of her mouth.

"Oh, I think you do, sweetheart," he linked their fingers together.

The ice had melted. She wasn't keeping him at arm's length like she did back at the house.

He held up their joined hands, placing a soft kiss to the back of her hand. He could see the moment when her breath caught and he gave her a knowing smile as he lowered their hands. Once again, he thought about kissing her. He wanted to run his hands through her silky hair, pull her in, and claim her lips with his own.

But he wouldn't. Not yet. He didn't think she was ready for that yet and he didn't want to risk scaring her.

He spent the next few minutes continuing to tease her and she rolled her eyes and jabbed him with a few playful elbows. This wasn't a bad way to spend a morning. He didn't love how early he had to get up but the company couldn't have been better. He found himself trying to think of some excuse to make it last longer but he couldn't come up with anything.

When a deep yawn hit him, he leaned over, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Tired?" she giggled.

"Extremely," he confirmed. "I haven't had a day off in a while. I've got Raw every week, plus live events, media, charity stuff, then I fly out here every week and see all of you lovely ladies."

"That sounds intense."

"It can be," he chuckled. "I can't complain though."

"Seth, you're human" she reminded him. "You can complain if you want to."

"Really, I can't," he shook his head. "I got hurt a while back; tore up my knee pretty bad; ACL, MCL, and meniscus."

"Jesus," she winced,

He nodded, "We were in Ireland. I was doing a move I'd done a hundred times. It just…something went wrong. I had to vacate my title, have surgery, go through rehab. I was out for 7 months and it was absolutely miserable."

She lightly squeezed his hand as he continued, "If you'd asked me then, I would have killed to be working as much as I am now so I'm not gonna complain. I'm grateful for all of it. I probably don't act like it sometimes but..it means everything to me."

He hadn't intended to go down such a serious path but he liked the way her thumb ran over his knuckles as she listened. She was easy to talk to, the words just flowed.

"Give me your hoodie," she held up her free hand and he reluctantly sat up straight, picking up the Progenex sweatshirt he'd discarded on the seat.

"Are you cold?"

She shook her head as she folded and fluffed the garment and placed it in her lap, "Come on, lay down."

He raised a questioning eyebrow at her and she shrugged, "You can try and take a nap for a few minutes. We still have elimination tonight. This day is nowhere near over. You should try and relax when you can."

He didn't need to be told twice. He laid on his back with his head in her lap and closed his eyes. His legs were at an odd angle but he didn't care. He missed having someone who was concerned with his well being. He missed knowing that there was always someone looking out for his best interest other than himself. He hadn't had that in a while. He didn't want to assign too much to a small gesture but he would be lying if he said this didn't make him feel good. He wasn't above being taken care of. Amidst the entire spectacle that was involved in this show, there was something comforting and real about the moment they were having. Her left arm rested across his stomach and her right hand found the top of his head, her fingers stroking through his hair, nails occasionally grazing his scalp.

"Can you just drive around for the next few hours?" Seth sleepily asked the driver. He could stay like this for as long as she would let him.

She laughed, "Ignore him. He's a crazy person."

He relaxed, sighing contentedly when she tucked some errant strands of hair behind his ear. When he woke up, he had no idea how long he'd been asleep. His eyes opened slowly and found her looking out the window. He shifted a fraction and she looked down at him with whiskey brown eyes.

"Those eyes are gonna be trouble for me," he smirked at her.

"Oh shut up Rollins," she blushed.

He reluctantly sat up when they reached the house. They got out of the car and he admired the curve of her lower back when she reached up to stretch. She caught him staring, as she always seemed to, and he shrugged at her. He couldn't help himself.

"I guess this is where I leave you," she walked over to him with his sweatshirt draped over her arm. "Unless you're coming back inside."

"I can't actually," he sighed. "I have to go do a radio interview."

"Well hopefully the quick nap helped," she gave him a sympathetic smile.

"The morning with you helped," he offered and she rolled her eyes.

He was laying it on thick, he knew that, but he liked the way she looked at him when he flirted with her. She was always trying for sardonic and amused but he could see that there was more there. She liked it. She liked him. She didn't want to admit it but he was confident that he could get her to. It might just take a little work.

"You still mad at me?" he asked, leaning back against the SUV.

"I don't have any reason to be mad at you," she shrugged. "You're a big boy. You make your own choices."

He reached out, catching her hand and guiding her to stand in front of him, "You know, if you're still jealous about Mia, you could just kiss me."

"I could," she agreed, tilting her head with a playful smile. She moved closer and he bit his lip when he felt the curve of her breasts, full and round, against his chest. Her eyes fell to his lips and slowly made their way back to his. Seth held his breath when he felt her hand toy with the bottom of his t-shirt. His own eyes closed when her finger just barely grazed his skin. He could feel the tip of her nose touch his.

"But I'm not jealous," she whispered.

He opened his eyes as she pulled away, grinning and pleased with herself.

She held out his hoodie, "I'll see you later, Seth."

"Yes you will," he nodded, taking the hoodie and discreetly holding it over a quickly growing hard-on as she backed toward the door. "I'm gonna get you back for that."

She smiled over her shoulder, opening the door, "I look forward to it."

Elle pressed her back against the front door, hoping that the cool wood would calm her. Her skin tingled and her pulse thumped loudly in her ears. She was just being silly, trying to mess with Seth's head because he gave her so much shit about being jealous. She hadn't intended to get herself worked up in the process but her intentions weren't doing her any good. The way his eyes darkened when she stepped into his space had sent a warmth swirling straight to her core that she hadn't expected. Flirting with Seth was playing with fire. She couldn't keep this up much longer.

PS: I am completely exhausted as I post this. I tried to catch any errors but I will go back through tomorrow and double check.