Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to everyone still reading this one.

Part Ten

Eve pushed her hair back from her face as she, Kelly, and Kaitlyn made it backstage after the divas' match for the night, Kaitlyn dressed in shorts and a modified referee's shirt for her role as the special guest referee for that night's match.

"That was kind of fun, actually," the young diva said, smiling as she spoke. "Being in charge and all. Plus, you know, I totally got to throw one of the Bellas out of the ring," Kaitlyn said, referring to the way she'd taken care of things when the Bellas had tried 'twin magic'.

"Yes, I'm sure Nikki was thrilled about that," Kelly said dryly, and Kaitlyn shrugged her shoulders.

"She totally said I could when the match was booked," the younger woman replied, the trio of divas making their way down the hallway. Nikki and Brie had already made it to the back, and they were supposed to meet them in the women's locker room to make sure everyone was okay after the match. Of course, everything had pretty much gone off according to plan, and while the Bellas had acted like they were in pain as they made their way to the back, odds were that they were perfectly fine.

"Hey, Eve! Eve, wait up!" a new voice called out and, while Kaitlyn seemed to pick up on the 'please save me' look that the tall brunette was suddenly sending the other divas, Kelly seemed oblivious, instead giving her a 'go get 'em' smile and tugging Kaitlyn away.

"We'll just be going now," the blonde woman said, obviously not picking up on the fact that Eve wanted her to do no such thing, but before Eve could find an excuse to go with them, Kelly had dragged Kaitlyn away, leaving Eve alone... With Zack Ryder.

Just looking at him made her want to kick him in the nuts.

"What do you want?" the woman asked, unable to stop her voice from being flat as she looked at him, crossing her arms over her chest in what was undoubtedly a defensive gesture. Zack didn't seem to notice, actually taking a step toward her and looking almost like he was going to try to hug her, but Eve quickly stepped back, moving to the side a bit. Maybe she wasn't going to confess that she knew about his stupid fucking bet with Cena just yet, but there was no way in hell she was going to let the jerk touch her.

Zack frowned, then seemed to shrug her reaction off. He probably thought she just had PMS or something. Or that she didn't want him to touch her when she was sweaty from a match. The thought that she didn't want him to touch her because he was a total asshole probably never crossed his mind.

"That was a great match out there. You were really good."

"Well, it was a group effort. All four of us... Five, if you count the special guest referee, and she really brought something to the match, too, so... Kaitlyn definitely should be counted. Anything else? Because I'd like to get back to the divas' locker room."

He frowned slightly, then smirked, stepping closer to her. Eve steeled herself slightly, barely managing to keep from taking a step back. "Well, I was thinking that... Maybe we could go out and celebrate. Just us."

"Celebrate what? It was a match at a house show. Nothing to celebrate," Eve replied, the woman able to see the flicker of frustration on Zack's face before he schooled his expression back to the happy guy he was trying to be. Clearly, this particular conversation was not going how he expected it to go. She wondered if he knew about Cena offering her a ride this morning and her turning it down to ride with Punk instead. She didn't figure Cena would confess what had happened, not to Zack anyway, but she wouldn't be too surprised if he knew about it and thought it meant he was somehow already a step ahead with the whole bet thing.

"Well, that doesn't mean we can't still go out. I mean, we don't really need a reason," Zack tried again, but Eve wasn't really paying too much attention to him right now as she spotted someone else coming toward them. Not CM Punk - unfortunately - but instead Daniel Bryan, the man ending a conversation he'd been having with his on-screen girlfriend AJ - probably going over any spots she had at ringside for his match that night - the man making his way over to where Eve and Zack stood.

"Eve, glad I spotted you. I didn't get a chance to ask earlier... You and Punk *are* coming out with me and Brie after the show, aren't you?" he questioned, causing Eve to blink in surprise... The diva quickly trying to cover up the shock she knew was likely on her face, instead smiling at the man. She had no idea how much he knew, but he clearly knew something was going on.

"We haven't really had much of a chance to talk about it yet. Are Nikki and Dolph going, too?" she asked, shifting a little closer to the man but trying not to make it too obvious. Personally, she'd prefer it if Daniel Bryan was standing between her and Zack Ryder, but the best she could do at the moment was shift so that she was a little closer to Daniel than she was to Zack. At least Daniel was here now... and apparently more than ready to help her get away somewhat gracefully.

"Not sure," Daniel replied, then offered his arm to her, a gesture that drew a smile to Eve's lips. A real one this time. "Why don't I walk you back to the divas' locker room and we can figure things out?"

"What about AJ?" Zack interjected a bit rudely, clearly not happy to have this moment interrupted... And even more unhappy to hear Punk and Eve's names linked as if it were a natural grouping. As if Daniel actually thought they were together.

"She already knows her spots for the match tonight. She was going to go and find Big Show," Daniel replied, and a quick glance to where AJ had been moments earlier showed that the diva was indeed off somewhere else by now. Daniel turned back to Eve, giving her the slightest of smiles, offering his arm again. "Shall we?"

"We shall," she replied with a smile, hooking her arm through Daniel's, not sure exactly how much it was that the man knew - or how he'd managed to find it out - but thankful that he'd come in for the rescue all the same.