NXT was a buzz of excitement. The weeks that followed WrestleMania had everyone in a good mood. But there was also word spreading through the roster of some visiting past NXT superstars. Ava had no clue who it was but she had every finger crossed that it was her friend Claudio.

The show meeting had gone by quickly, Ava wasn't surprised to not hear her name mentioned once. Swallowing back the bitter pill, she tried to not let it affect her, and instead tried to think about the future and the storyline she was just about to enter with the Wyatt Family. There hadn't been anything like it before. It would be a chance for all four of them, Bray, Luke, Erick and herself to shine.

Over the past week the four of them had been pulling together ideas, bouncing them off with Regal and occasionally Hunter. They were due to start filming a series of promos early next week, which would later be shown on RAW as a teaser. Ava would not be featured in them, only her voice. Thanks to Summer and the video she had posted on twitter a couple of months ago, Hunter had caught wind of her singing and Ava just wanted to shrivel up in a hole and disappear.

Yes, she sang in the car with the girls and was proud to say she could belt out a song and actually hold a tune. She wouldn't say no to karaoke but singing for work made her feel a bit vulnerable and exposed. It had never been part of her wrestling career and she had previously never wanted to. But Hunter had encouraged and persuaded her with the promise of how creepy and sinister it would all sound when the jigsaw came together.

So she had given a list of songs to Hunter and sought his approval. Her and Bray had come together one evening to trawl through their music to find the perfect lyrics for her to sing. Hunter's vision was creepy, sinister girl in horror films. She had to admit; she wasn't partial to those kind of horror films but swallowed back her fear and agreed.

"Regal wants to meet us." Luke mumbled to her and pulled her from her thoughts.

Nodding, she looked back up to see Hunter and Regal gone from the front and everyone slowly filing out. "I'm gonna go grab the notes. I'll meet you in the office." He ruffled her hair in response and she shot him a quick glare.

Luke had taken on the dad role rather quickly with her, always looking out for her. Erick was the recluse younger one and Bray was the mastermind and the protective older brother. They really had become a little family in such a short amount of time.

Collecting her notes from the women's locker room, she quickly doubled back in the direction of the office. Stopping shortly, she recognised the familiar threesome walking in the opposite direction. Frowning, her brown eyes squinted in a frown at the widening smirk.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh it's nice to see you too, Ava." Colby quipped, crossing his arms over his chest. Dressed in gym clothing, they didn't resemble the Shield in the slightest in that moment. Well, except being three hulking figures that towered over her 5'6 form.

Shooting the two toned man a look, "I just meant I'm surprised to see you guys here. Y'know, now that you're big stars with a WrestleMania match under your belt and all." She flicked her wrist and pretended to not feel the burning gaze of Jon Good on her.

"Hunter asked us to do a couple of appearances on NXT on the next couple shows. Help boost ratings a bit." Joe, the voice of reason, behind them spoke up.

"Yeah, come and help out your little show."

Raising a brow at the blonde Shield member, she saw his smirk widen. "Little? Who are you calling little? We've got better ratings than Main Event."

Chuckling, Jon crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay, settle down, firecracker."

Making a face, she took a deep breath before turning away from the Shield member. "I have a meeting to get to, but it was nice seeing you two." She looked pointedly as Colby and Joe only.

"And it's always nice seeing you, sunshine."

Shooting Jon an unimpressed look, she tried to ignore how his gravelly voice made her feel. It was like his hands were all over her back again, soothing each muscle. Shaking her head, she turned back to the pair and ignored him. "I'll catch you guys later." Rolling her eyes, she stepped through them to make her way to the office.

Squeezing past the three men was no easy feat, especially when Jon was being especially difficult and Joe and Colby couldn't back their chuckles. With her note papers in hand, she swung up and clipped him round the head. The satisfying smack brought a smile to her face. "Move, you ass."

"Feisty, I like it." Jon joked, moving to lean against the wall, his hand reaching up to rub his ear that had been struck. He watched on as she walked the rest of the way down the hall to Regal's office. Drawing in a deep breath, he relaxed against the wall with a satisfied smirk."I do like a challenge." He hummed, watching the subtle sway of her hips.

"Claudio would murder you. Slowly. And enjoy it too." Colby spoke up.

"You ain't got the time to play around anyway." Joe shot him a stern look. "We still need to talk to the guys about this match."

Jon simply grinned over at them. "Then let's go boys."

"Like a damn puppy after a treat." The Samoan shook his head and turned Jon in the opposite direction of the blonde.

"I think I might dye my tips blue."

"I think you would like to get fired. How the heck are you gonna clear that with management?"

"I'd get away with it."

"Doubtful." Ava snorted, casually braiding the black locks of Paige as they lounged on the sofas in catering. She was surprised the Brit had even allowed her, but she had monitors faced them, showing the Shield as they sauntered to the ring for their tag match.

The blonde bit down on her lower lip, her eyes scanning one Dean Ambrose in the ring. He turned into a certain type of beast between those ropes; Jon Good was no longer there. They had picked up the win successfully, no surprise there. They had demolished their opponents with a triple power bomb. Grabbing mics, they soon were growling words of serving justice at NXT.

When Jon stepped on the mic, his gravelled voice rolled over her. Her nimble fingers braided Paige's hair on autopilot but her mind was back to thinking about his hands and how they had worked her magic on her sore and aching muscles. She had said 'next time' and she wasn't lying, she hoped there would be a next time. She wouldn't mind taking advantage of those soothing hands every now and again.

A smirk touched her lips at the thought of what else his hands were capable of. Snapping her eyes back up to the screen as Paige yelled out something, she watched as Jon manically shook his hair while rolling his shoulders. From the tron, Corey Graves appeared, taunting them all the while Ava's eyes were glued to the Ohioan.

Seth got back on the mic, accepting Graves' challenge, the two toned man clearly still having an issue with the man who had defeated him. Groaning, she knew this meant all three of them would be back for the next taping as well. That meant more taunting and teasing from the blonde man. But a small part of her didn't mind that.

Jon's fist met Joe and Colby's, his tongue snaking out with a devilish look as he brushed his hair back.

She couldn't figure him out for the life of her. He was so cocky and arrogant. But yet there was a twinkle in his eye whenever he got sarcastic with her, like he was enjoying teasing and annoying her. He already knew what buttons to press with her and he didn't even know her that well. Except that she liked tequila and massages.

Before they became the Shield, they hadn't spoken much, if at all. Yes, he had hit on her at a house party once last year. But he had been blind drunk and she was a bit fragile and had just broken up with her boyfriend. So fragile was putting it lightly, she was near broken. She had said no repeatedly to him until Claudio had finally pulled him away.

Blinking, she noticed they had disappeared from the screen and Paige was jabbering on about another house party tonight. "Cass is hosting so you know they'll be a lot of drinks."

"Drinks? You are not 21 yet."

Paige shot the blonde a look. "Whatever you say, mom." Rolling her eyes, Paige turned and flopped back against her.

"Fine, I'll go. I'll be your sensible chaperone."

The Brit scoffed and then laughed. "Alright, sensible. If that's what you wanna call yourself, love."

Half offended, Ava shot her a look. "I am sensible. More sensible than you."

"Okay, just don't make me remind you what happened last time Cass threw a house party." Paige smirked and Ava grimaced. Memories flooded her of drinking some foul mixture of alcohol during a drinking game and the rush of sickness that hit her straight after. All she could remember was getting very familiar with Cass' bathroom floor.

"Please don't. It's bad enough that Cass won't let me forget it."

Ignoring Paige laughing at her, she caught sight of a flash of black out of the corner of her eye. The threesome walked down the row of tables covered in food. Joe filled up a cup of coffee, Colby reached for a water, while Jon grabbed an apple, twirling it in his hand.

His hair was now slicked back, his protective vest unbuckled to reveal the black tank top beneath. There was a slight swagger in his steps as he turned to catch her staring. His eyes widened, that twinkle returning as he took a few steps towards her and Paige. The Brit in front of her looked up at him with a frown.

"See something you like, sunshine?"

Ava tried with all her might to ignore the effect his rough voice was having on her. "Yeah, I do actually." Offering him an eyebrow raise of her own, she crooked her finger at him, beckoning him closer. His smirk turned into a grin as he bent over to her eye level. Running her tongue over her lower lip, his eyes followed, she then reached forward and swiped the apple from his grasp.

Taking a big bite in front of him, she chewed and swallowed. "Thanks, I'm starving." The smirk vanished from his face in an instance and Ava finally felt like she had won that round.

A/N: Stay tuned for Big Cass' house party in the next chapter… Guess who else got invited? ;)