Disclaimer:

Nope, I don't own the WWE superstars, or diva's, or any other people from the universe that might come up in the story. They belong to Vince and themselves. I only own my OC's and my ideas.

A/N:

Please read and review! Comment, criticism, everything is welcome (except flaming lol). I apologize for the delay; there was something wrong with the uploud feature, as I'm sure some of you noticed. It was so frustrating! But, big thanks to Slashguy for figuring out a way around it, even though he probably won't see this lol.

It was a number of weeks since Nikki and Miz, as Mike preferred to call himself, debuted on TV, and tonight was one of the most fun shows ever, in Nikki's opinion. As per storyline, Nikki and the Miz are supposed to be trying to one-up each other, and see who gets jealous first, after the guys, on screen, claimed that having Nikki at ringside was the reason he was on a losing streak the last few matches.

Nikki got off the car, and was out of sight before Punk had fully exited the car. Maria didn't have a match or an appearance scheduled for tonight, so she opted to stay home and take a break for a change. Punk shook his head at Nikki, as he made his way inside. He had a pretty important match tonight, against the OVW Champion, so he was pretty excited as well.

Meanwhile, show-time couldn't come fast enough for Nikki, and Mike was enjoying watching her whine and complain, but finally, they were given the signal to start.

They were in the locker room, or at least, Mike was there, when Nikki opened the door and entered, sneering at Mike, "Look what we have here; it's the Miz! Oh my god, I think I'm going to faint..." she feigned beginning to faint, before standing up straight and saying, "No, I don't think so."

Mike rolled his eyes, "Are you done? Good. Now, let's get one thing straight, cupcake. I know you've been hearing things in the locker room, people telling you that the Miz is head over heels over you, making you think you're all that," he stood up, walking over to tower over Nikki, "But here's the truth; it's all talk. You're not that important, you're not at all important actually. You're just lucky you're pretty...barely." He snorted, toying with a lock of her hair, "So don't go thinking you can bat your pretty little eyelashes, and I'll go weak in the knees, or try to make me jealous or whatever might be going on in that little head of yours. You can't throw me off my game."

Nikki looked pretty amused, before she began running her index finger up and down Mike's chest, "Really? 'cause see I didn't bring all that up, so you must have been thinking about it, sweetheart." Her smirk grew wider, as she stepped even closer to Mike, and continued, "I think you are under my spell. I bet I can make you jealous faster than you can make me."

Mike raised his eyebrow, studying Nikki carefully, before saying, "Alright, I'll take you on that bet. What's your plan, Nikki?" He said the last bit mockingly, as if even the idea of her was ridiculous.

Nikki smirked, taking a step back, and said, "How about this. The first person to walk through that door, I'm going to kiss, and everyone will get to see you squirm and stutter, Miz. What do you say?"

Mike snorted, nodding, "Fine by me, but it's not gonna work. Oh, imagine if one of the janitorial squad people walk in. That, cupcake, will be priceless."

Nikki shrugged, retorting, "I bet even they're better kissers than you."

That managed to wipe the smirk off of Mike's face, if only momentarily, "Keep on telling yourself that."

He glanced at the clock subtly, and managed to stop himself from frowning; they were on camera after all. Still, he was a little confused about what was taking Kenny Dykstra so long, as he was supposed to be the guy to walk in. He could see that Nikki was wondering the same thing, just from the slight narrowing of her eyes.

Meanwhile, outside, Dykstra was being taken care of, as his arm was accidently injured in a match a few minutes ago. Jeremiah, the head of the creative team, was beginning to freak out, when he spotted a potential replacement for Kenny.

"Punk! Come here," demanded Jeremiah. Punk, who had just finished a match, and was about to go shower, change, and wait for Nikki to finish, stopped, and frowned, but he did go to see what Jeremiah wanted. The other guy grasped his forearm, speaking as if the world was about to end, "I need you to go in there and...well, just go along with the others, alright? Come on, it's getting awkward."

Punk looked pretty confused, but he shrugged, "Alright, don't give yourself a heart attack, Daniels. This door?" When the man nodded, Punk shrugged, and pushed the door open.

Inside, Nikki and Mike almost sighed in relief, but, for one of them, that feeling was short-lived. Nikki almost visibly paled when she saw that the person walking in was most definitely not Kenny. She frowned slightly, and hesitated about going through with the plot.

Mike was a little concerned when Nikki didn't just go ahead and follow the storyline, so he said, "What's the matter, Nikki? Getting cold feet?"

Nikki glanced at Mike, snorting, but behind him, the camera crew were gesturing for her to hurry up. Knowing that she had a choice between basically her job, or her life, Nikki chose her job. She slowly approached a puzzled looking Punk, until she was standing just in front of him. Nikki then reached out and pulled him by the neck, closing the gap between them, and pressing her lips against his.

As per storyline, it was supposed to be quick, slightly provocative kiss. However, storylines don't always go as planned. When Nikki approached him, Punk wasn't sure what was going on, but then, as she came closer, he remembered her telling them about the storyline she was in. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, but he didn't really have much time to think. As her lips touched his, Punk instinctively found himself pulling her body against his. If he thought the last time he kissed her was something, it was nothing compared to this. He hadn't had the warning signs this time; he'd been almost convinced that there was nothing going on between them up till this point, but now, all his resolve to stay away was dissolving.

Nikki knew this was going to be trouble the moment Punk walked in through the door, but this was her job, she wasn't going to blow it just because she didn't want the drama. However, as soon as she and Punk connected, thoughts of her job, and everything else escaped her mind, as she was pressed against his bare chest. It wasn't until she heard the subtle cough from one of the camera crew, did she pull away.

If the relief Mike had felt when CM Punk walked in was great, it was nothing to the surprise that came with watching the man and Nikki kiss. It was so intense, so steamy, that Mike didn't even have to do too much acting to look like the jealous, shocked boyfriend of Nikki, as the camera rolled over to him. Any guy would be jealous after watching that.

Attempting to make sure everything sticks to the script as much as possible, Nikki smirked, looking from Mike, to Punk, and said, "How about that, Miz?" She snorted, glancing at Punk, and exited, saying, "You're welcome, Punk."

She left the room, only to find Jeremiah waiting on the other side, watching excitedly. He grabbed her by the shoulders, hugging her, before pulling her away and saying, "Nikki Valentine, you are full of surprises, that was...it was hot! It looked so real! Well done, well done!"

Nikki smiled weakly at him, excusing herself to go change. She almost felt the urge to tell Jeremiah that there was a reason it 'looked so real', but opted not to. She was going to die; there was no doubt in her mind that Steve and Maria were probably watching. All of a sudden, she wasn't so sure she wanted to go home.

After she put on her jeans, and a t-shirt, Nikki left the building to reluctantly wait outside by Punk's car. If it was up to her, she would walk, but it was a pretty long way down, and she didn't fancy the idea of getting blisters, so riding with him, as awkward and uncomfortable as it was going to be, was the only option. Fortunately for her, when Punk finally appeared, he wasn't alone; Mike was walking alongside him.

Punk glanced at Nikki, and tried to keep casual, as he told her, "Mizanin's car won't start; you don't mind if we drop him off on our way, do you?"

Nikki shook her head, smirking at Mike, "Nah, it's cool. Get in, Mister Miz."

Mike took the passenger seat, when Nikki elected to sit at the back. He wasn't one to really care what anyone else was doing, but it was a little too obvious that something was going on here. He glanced at Punk, to Nikki, and back again to Punk, before asking, "So you two live together?" He glanced at Nikki's reflection in the mirror, adding, "I didn't know you were seeing someone."

"I'm not. Punk and I live with two other friends of ours," she replied, looking distracted. "We're just friends."

"Ah, I see," said Mike, smirking slightly. He glanced at Punk briefly, adding, "I wish I had friends like that." He laughed when Nikki shot him a glare, but said nothing, and soon enough, Punk stopped at the address Mike gave him. As he left, Mike thanked Punk, and bid Nikki goodnight, laughing to himself silently.

Meanwhile, at the bungalow, Stephen was sitting on an armchair in the living room, in fear for his life. Maria had not said a word since 'It' happened, and it sort of terrified Steve. He had gone and ordered some pizza, received the pizza, and she still hadn't spoken a single word. It meant bad things were going to happen. Bad, terrible things. He sort of didn't want Nicole and Punk to come home, but they did.

Stephen glanced at the door, as Punk walked in first, looking pretty tired, but by now that had almost become routine. He glanced at Stephen, who mouthed to him silently 'She's furious! Don't make any sudden movements!'. Punk looked around until he finally spotted Maria, sitting at the kitchen, with a plate of untouched pizza in her hands.

"Hey. You're early. The show just ended," said Maria calmly. Phil was no idiot, though, he could tell that there was a storm brewing under.

"We left after we finished our segments," replied Punk, going over to the pizza boxes, with a plate on his hand.

As he turned around, he saw that Nikki had come back inside. She had insisted that the flowers on the driveway needed watering, but even a five years old could tell she just didn't want to face Maria and Steve.

"Hey guys," Nikki said, as she took off her coat.

Maria waited until Nikki was about to sit on the arm chair opposite Steve before she approached her, with venom-filled eyes. The look on Nikki's face told her that the girl was expecting this, and ready for it. That didn't deter Maria, "You know, just when I thought I'd give you the benefit of the doubt, you pull the rug right from under my feet. No, I'm going back to my initial impression of you, whore." With that, she raised her hand, delivering a slap to the blonde's face, causing her to stagger backwards.

Nikki said nothing, instead nodding, once she regained feeling of her face. She sort of understood where Maria was coming from, even if she didn't think this was entirely her fault. She hadn't asked for Kenny to break his arm, or for Jeremiah to pick Phil, but still, she did have the option of walking away, and Nikki didn't. Then again, so did Phil. She really couldn't blame Maria for being angry.

Once the redhead had walked away, Nikki nursed her cheek, before she took her seat, and watched TV silently, her mind not really into it. Phil sat on one end of the dining table, Maria at the other, while Steve was right across from Nikki. Nobody said anything; they barely breathed.

After a while, Nikki and Steve began talking aimlessly about stupid stuff, before they got in a fight over who gets the last slice of pizza. Nikki was victorious. She settled back into her chair, grinning slightly, as Stephen shook his head, saying, "You really like pizza, don't you?"

Nikki shrugged, "I am Italian; I have to love pizza and pasta, it's in my blood."

Steve laughed, before asking, "You're Italian? I didn't know that."

"Well, I'm half; my dad is Italian, though. Valentine, Valentino," Nikki rolled her eyes; the name did not sound good. Nicole Valentino. She was glad her grandfather changed it.

"Cool," replied Steve. "How come you never talk about them? Your family, I mean?"

Nikki shrugged, about to tell him that the subject never came up, but before she could say anything, Maria cut her off, "Come on, Steve, anyone can guess that. I mean, I've only known her for a few months and I can't stand her. Imagine how her family feels; they're probably thanking God to be rid of the selfish, worthless, stupid whore she is. Probably don't even spare her a second thought, and can you blame them? "

The silence that fell upon the room once more was deadly. There was a loud, obscene song playing on TV, disturbing the silence, so Stephen subtly turned it off. Nikki looked like she had just received a blow to the stomach. After a minute of silence, she stood up, placing her plate, with the untouched last slice of pizza, on the coffee table, saying, "I'm not so hungry anymore. Excuse me." With that, she quickly left the room, and a few seconds later, they heard the front door slamming shut. Steve was a little worried she would drive off and get herself hurt, but they didn't hear the sound of any of the cars leaving.

He glanced at Maria, noting that she looked sort of surprised by Nikki's reaction. Then again, he kind of was too; he knew Maria was kind of crossing the line, but he hadn't expected Nikki to take it so hard.

"That was uncalled for."

Stephen turned to look at Phil as he spoke, noting the look of mixed anger and concern- for whom, though, he wasn't sure.

"Uncalled for?" retorted Maria. "Oh yes, after she had a steamy make out session with you, on TV, when I call her out for it, it's 'uncalled for'. Seriously!"

Phil narrowed his eyes, "I understand that what she did –what we both did- was wrong, but that was a low blow. You don't know anything about her family!"

"And you obviously do," said Maria, looking hurt. "Listen to yourself; you're defending her, when you should be worrying about how I feel about what happened. It's like you're brainwashed!"

Phil closed his eyes, massaging his temple, looking exhausted, "I know you're upset, I know you're hurt, and you have every right to be, but this is not the way to go about it...I..." He trailed off, before standing up. "I should go see Nikki."

Maria stared after him incredulously, Stephen with resignation. He knew this was going to be trouble from the start. Soon enough, they heard the door slam shut again. Steve turned to see Maria looking on the verge of tears. He stood up, and took a seat next to her.

"Hey, hey, take it easy," he said, placing a hesitant hand on hers. "Look, I know Phil's being odd and confusing, but he cares about you a lot. He's just...Nicole's a good friend too."

"It's not just that, it's everything, Steve," Maria replied, "I feel like he's slipping away, and if he would just admit it, maybe it would be easier...I don't know."

Steve sighed, squeezing her hand in comfort. He hated being in this position; he hated not being able to point the finger of blame at one person and just deal with the issue that way. But he knew too much about what was going on inside his friends' minds; he couldn't just judge. He looked Maria in the eyes, saying, "You have to sit down and talk, the two of you. Figure out what's going on, but you need to know that Phil wouldn't hurt you intentionally, Maria."

Maria sighed, before nodding, and standing up. "I think I'll turn in. Thanks, though, Steve." She smiled at Steve weakly, but he could see that she wasn't any less upset than when he came to talk to her. Well, there was only so much he could do.

Meanwhile, outside, Nikki wasn't feeling any better than she had sitting on that chair, staring at Maria in shock. She had heard it before, the insults she got for being a little too provocative. But no one had ever uttered the thoughts that sometimes, often, actually, did cross her mind, about her family, and why they were always trying to push her away. Nikki knew the tears were sitting there, just waiting to fall, but she hated crying, she hated being vulnerable like that, so she was resisting as long as she could.

Phil walked out hurriedly, thinking that he was going to have to walk around a little bit before he could find Nikki, but she was standing on the porch. She turned to face him, a look of distress falling over her face. He frowned, not really knowing what to do.

"Nik, I'm sorry, this is all my fault," he said, looking at her with concern.

"You shouldn't be here," she said, trying to avoid looking at Phil.

"Maria doesn't know," he added, "About your brother, I mean. She wouldn't have said that otherwise."

Nikki laughed humourlessly, "Does it matter? She's right; that's exactly what's going through everyone's mind, and I'm starting to believe it's true."

Phil shook his head, reaching out to pull Nikki to his chest, and said, "It's not; you're a lot more than that, Nik, believe me."

However, Nikki wasn't having any of it, as she pushed him away from her, taking a few steps back, "Don't. Phil, I don't know where you stand in this whole situation, but it would be a hell of a lot easier if you just kept your distance; we can't be friends like that anymore. Apparently, I can't be friends with any guy."

Phil felt a little insulted by that, as he countered, "What about Steve? You're all buddy-buddy with him, how is that any different?"

Nikki rolled her eyes, "Steve doesn't have a girlfriend, and Steve hasn't kissed me. Twice."

"Need I remind you that you actually kissed me, tonight?" replied Phil.

Nikki sighed, "I know, I had to, Mike and the crew were waiting...and...whatever, I don't want to talk about that." She looked up at him, making eye contact for the first time, "Just go, Phil. Please."

He could see that she was about to cry, and although that in its own made him want to stay, it also kind of scared him. He didn't like how anxious he got, just watching her practically beg him to leave. He didn't like how much it upset him too, watching her hurt. And he didn't know how to make her feel better.

"Okay. I'll see you later," said Phil, resigning. She simply nodded, turning her back on him and hugging herself tightly. He hesitated, before deciding to grant Nikki her wish, and going back inside. Unfortunately, it seemed like his night of disaster was not over yet: Stephen was standing in front of the kitchen table, arms crossed, glaring at him.

Before the guy could say anything, Phil said, "Please, don't. Whatever you have to say I've already said to myself."

"Go talk to Maria. Now," replied Steve shortly. He was really unimpressed with Phil's actions, even if he didn't fully blame him for anything.

"I was just about to," said Phil, making his way to the stairs. Before he went up, he stopped, saying, "Can you go see Nik? I don't know, try to talk to her?"

Steve nodded, before gesturing for him to go upstairs, which Phil did.

He knocked on the door tentatively, but there was no response. After waiting a few minutes, Phil pushed the door open, poking his head in first to see if Maria was even there; she was, and she had obviously just been crying. Phil groaned mentally, before letting himself in and closing the door behind him. He approached Maria, sitting on the edge of the bed, before he placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him in a hug. At least he knew how to comfort one of them.

Maria pulled away after a few minutes, looking up at him, and asked, "Would you rather be with her?" Phil opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off, "Because if you just told me that, if you'd come out and said it, I can take it."

Phil was tempted to take her word for it, to break things off right then and there, but he could see that she was trying to be brave. It was true that he didn't want to hurt Maria, but he also didn't want to break up with her because that would leave him with a chance to be with Nikki. It was twisted, how he thought, but the mere idea of letting Nikki in even deeper, it was scary. He was never really one to back out of a challenge, or to run away from something, but he was also not the best at relationships. He could be a good boyfriend, as long as things weren't too deep. That was the case with Maria; she didn't penetrate his walls and defences, she didn't make him do impulsive things, she didn't cause him to let his emotions take over. He had control of these things around her. Then there was Nikki. While he didn't completely lose his control over himself, he had come close, some might even say he did lose it. And that was without there being anything official between them. He didn't even want to think of what he would be like if he had the chance to be with her; it was much too intimidating.

"I don't want to be with her," Phil said, partially lying. "I shouldn't have kissed her back, but it was just a moment of weakness. It...it didn't mean anything." And maybe, Phil thought to himself, maybe if he kept telling her and himself that, it would become true, and he would believe it too. He sincerely hoped so, but for some reason, he sort of doubted it.

What had he gotten himself into?

A/N:

Thanks to everyone who's reading, and special thanks to the reviewers! :)

You guys are all awesome!