I feel like I do this whole taking forever to update thing a lot now :/ Summer and family really are quite distracting, sorry dudes. But anyways I'm finally back on here and ready to get some shit done, so I hope you all like this one, slightly longer than usual as an apology for being a shit updater.
Finally, the big day was here. Wrestlemania 31 was just hours away and the nerves hit Paige full on from the moment she woke up. She'd had a great night at the Hall Of Fame ceremony the night before with her mum and had managed to stay well clear of AJ, who hadn't even shown up for the event. Now, as she pulled her sweatpants and crop top on, her mind was fully focused on the match she was going to be in later on and on making her first Wrestlemania as amazing as it possibly could be. Plus, knowing she was the only Wrestlemania newbie of the 4 Divas, she felt an even greater need to do well.
Just then Saraya, Paige's mother, came out of the bathroom, rubbing her bright red hair dry with a towel. "Morning princess." She grinned.
"Morning mum." Paige grinned back, giving her a quick hug.
"You all ready for today?" Saraya asked, pride showing clearly on her face as she thought about seeing her daughter perform at the biggest wrestling event in existence.
Paige shrugged. "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."
Saraya smiled. "You'll do amazing. Come on, let's go get some breakfast in us and head to the arena."
A couple of hours later, they both arrived at the Levi's Stadium and Paige was immediately whisked away to try out her new gear in case any adjustments had to be made. Knowing that her daughter was probably going to be busy for a bit, Saraya decided to go kill some time and went off to get a peek of the empty stadium. Since she was there with Paige, she was fine to wander around before things got too chaotic. To her surprise, she spotted AJ sat in one of the chairs a little way back from ringside. Smiling, she headed over towards her, intending to thank her for looking out for Paige.
AJ noticed her coming and felt her stomach drop. Was that Paige's mother? She was pretty sure it was...but had Paige told her anything? Was she about to get yelled at? Hoping her slight fear wouldn't show, AJ smiled at the approaching woman. "Hey there." She greeted.
"Hey." Saraya grinned back and took the seat next to her. "Wasn't expecting to find anyone out here."
"Yeah...I like to come and just soak the place in before a big event." AJ explained. "I enjoy the peace."
"Well it doesn't get bigger than this." Saraya chuckled. "You all ready?"
"As ready as you can be, it's still kinda nerve-wrecking at times." AJ replied, resting her feet on the back of the seat in front of her. "I guess you know that though, you're a pretty awesome wrestler yourself. Paige showed me one of your matches with her a while ago."
Saraya chuckled. "Thanks love, but I'd probably shit myself if I had to perform here, I'm too used to smaller things."
"Nah, it all goes away the moment you get out there and hear that crowd...nothing else matters." AJ smiled, a little surprised at how comfortable she felt talking to the older woman. The fear that had hit her at first had melted away.
"Your love for this business really shows." Saraya stated.
"I can't imagine myself anywhere else." AJ answered sincerely.
"Good to hear." Saraya smiled. "I wanted to thank you for looking out for my daughter since she was called up. She's told me what a help you were and still are."
AJ shifted round to face her. "It's no trouble, she's a very talented person. You did really well training her."
"Thank you." Saraya grinned proudly. "You've had awesome story lines together, it's a good thing you get along so well."
AJ shrugged, though her face clearly lit up talking about Paige, and this didn't go unseen by the red head next to her. "She's a great girl and a great friend, it doesn't even seem like work. We have a lot of fun together."
"It never looked awkward either. Hell, you even seemed like a right couple sometimes." Saraya teased innocently.
AJ's chest clenched. "Yeah, I guess we did..." She trailed off, looking away.
Saraya's amusement was replaced with a frown at AJ's reaction. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"You didn't." AJ replied, giving her a quick smile. "It's totally fine."
"Okay then." Saraya smiled back, making a mental note to bring it up with Paige later on. AJ going from gushing to awkward like that had to have some reason. "Well, I think I've blabbed on enough. I should leave you to enjoy your time."
"You can stay if you want." AJ told her. "I don't mind the company."
Saraya decided to take her up on the offer and remained in her seat, both of them watching in a peaceful silence as some workers finished setting up and started testing out all the entrances, making sure they had everything in the right order and ready to go.
Meanwhile, Paige had finished trying her gear and getting all she needed together. She left the dressing room and bumped into the Bellas, who had just arrived.
"Hey opponent." Nikki greeted, full of excitement.
"Hey." Paige laughed as she was squished between the two twins in a hug.
"We're gonna go check out the stadium before people start arriving, wanna come?" Brie asked.
"Sure." Paige grinned and all 3 went outside, soaking in the giant place that would soon be packed with loud fans.
"We're so gonna kill it tonight." Nikki stated confidently, met by nods of agreement from Brie.
Paige was zoned out, a bit overwhelmed that she was actually there and not at all dreaming. She was suddenly pulled from her trance by Brie's voice. "Hey Paige, isn't that your mom over there next to AJ?"
Paige looked over to where Brie was now pointing. "Yeah, it is." She nodded, wondering why the hell they were talking. Would AJ have told her anything? Surely not...
"I'm going inside, I don't wanna be getting all sweaty yet." Nikki announced, taking one last look before turning back and heading inside. Her sister and Paige followed her, Paige's mind dwelling on what she'd just seen. Things were going to be awkward enough between her and AJ without her mum knowing about anything that had happened, or rather almost happened, between the two of them. But then again, she knew very well that she could trust in AJ.
With now only half an hour to go until the Wrestlemania kickoff began, Paige and AJ were sat with the Bellas going over some final details for their match and making sure they had it all down perfectly. After verbally running through it one last time, Nikki, Brie and AJ went to grab a drink, giving Saraya a passing "hey" on their way out and her way in.
"Everything set?" Saraya asked cheerfully.
"Yep, we're good to go." Paige replied with a grin. "You done alright without me?" She teased.
"I managed just fine, cheeky twat." Saraya laughed. "Had a nice chat with your tag partner while you were sorting some stuff."
"I know, I saw you sat together when I went to nose around outside earlier." Paige informed her. "Bet you were blabbing about me." She snickered, hiding her worry.
"Maybe." Saraya stuck her tongue out. "I think I upset her or something though."
"Why?" Paige asked.
"I joked about how you seemed like a couple during your first storyline and she reacted weird." Saraya replied. "Is there something I should know?"
"No, there isn't." Paige said.
Saraya rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, you know you can't lie to me."
Paige sighed. "We got really close working together again, we almost kissed one night, I have feelings for her but before I could tell her, she said it didn't mean anything and now we're all fucking awkward around each other." She explained.
"Well shit, me and my giant mouth." Saraya cursed, hugging her. "I'm sorry that happened."
"It's fine, everything will go great once we're out there and focused." Paige assured, more for herself than her mum.
"I know it will." Saraya smiled. "And just so you know, she spoke very highly of you and did seem actually upset. Maybe hope isn't all lost."
"Seriously?" Paige asked.
"Her face fucking lit up talking about you." Saraya told her.
"I'm just gonna focus on our match for now." Paige answered, not quite daring to hope. After all, she knew AJ did consider her a very close friend and wouldn't say anything bad about her like that, especially not to her mum. Plus, she'd made her feelings, or lack of them, quite clear a week ago. So what good would hoping do at this point? No fucking good at all, that's what.
"Good plan. I should go get settled down, kick off is gonna start soon and I wanna see The Usos take back them titles." Saraya wiggled her eyebrows and gave Paige another hug. "You're gonna kick arse out there and I'm so proud of you."
Paige grinned. "Thanks mum, I won't disappoint you."
"I know you won't, you rock." Saraya grinned back and darted out the door, bumping into AJ on her way down the hall.
"Hey again." AJ smiled. "Enjoy the show."
"I will. And if you do actually have feelings, please tell her." Saraya said seriously before carrying on her way, leaving AJ confused. Had Paige told her everything? She had to have, there was no other reason why her mum would have said that to her. I'm gonna have to tell her...but I can't do it right now. We both need to focus on our jobs and c'mon, it's waited this long...what's a few more hours?