Here's a new chappy of UA! So you know there WILL be more drama in the upcoming chapters, yep, lots of drama! I only own Shay and my OCs. THank you Angel for beta-reading this and thank you to my readers for reviewing:) Please read, review, and enjoy!:)


*Shay POV*

I walked through the hallways of the arena, sighing at the blandness of the halls. There were posters of random Superstars, mostly Cena, Triple H, and Undertaker. Running a hand through my hair, I almost tripped, but caught myself. As I turned the corner, I almost ran into Chris Jericho.

He scoffed. "Watch where you're going, junior."

"S-sorry, Chris." I mumbled.

"Shay? Sorry for yelling." He frowned, guilt setting in. "Um, I really didn't mean to snap at you. So, how was your Christmas?"

"Um…good. T-thanks for asking."

"So, are you dating John?"

I was slightly taken aback. "No…why?"

Chris shrugged. "He's just not good for you."

"And h-how would you know that? You've been on Raw the past few months. E-ever since Adam got injured, you've p-practically aborted Smackdown."

"I've actually been around him a lot longer. He's racking in the women all the time. Maybe not in front of you, but it's true. I don't want you to get hurt, Shay."

"Really? You don't want me t-to get hurt? Here's a newsflash, C-Chris, I can take care of myself. I'm not fragile like everyone seems to think. I-if they would actually take the time and get over their selfish pride enough to get to know me, they could see that. I've known you for years, Chris. And I-I'm sorry if I came off a little harsh, but you just…don't know me. You used to, back when you trained in the Dungeon, b-but you started ignoring me because I wouldn't help you get farther in your career." I replied quietly.

"You're…right. Would you like to catch lunch sometime? You know…so we can catch up?"

I looked at him hesitantly, wondering if this was some kind of joke. Slowly, I nodded and smiled. "Sure, Chris. Um, when do you wanna grab lunch?"

"Well, right now's good, if that's fine with you." He smiled and I nodded again as he led me down the hall.

*John POV*

"You love her, or at least you're getting really, really close." CM Punk stated. My eyebrow rose as I turned my head to look at him.

"Excuse me?"

"Shay, you love her, don't you?"

"I-I…don't know."

"Dude, you drove to Canada just to keep a promise." He smirked. We were in a café, one that wasn't too busy, otherwise, we'd be swarmed with people. No, it was practically empty, only a few tables were occupied. It was Punk, Rey, Matt and myself sitting in a booth. Punk and Rey were opposite of me and I had the wall seat.

"We're just friends." I replied.

"That doesn't mean you don't love her." Punk pointed out.

"Give the guy a break, Phil. He's getting to know someone new, someone a little…"

"Weird?" Punk interrupted.

"She's not weird, just shy." Matt shrugged.

"Well, you know a lot about her." I said as Rey got up.

"I gotta go, I'll see ya later." He nodded as he left, just as Shay walked in with Chris Jericho. There wasn't any way this was a date, he was nine years her senior and was married. They were probably just catching up, right? Shaking my head, I sighed as they sat down at a booth across the café.

The duo were talking, both of them, even Shay. She was nodding as well as putting in comments and from the look of it, she was talking a lot. Then, after a few moments, she laughed. It wasn't a giggle, or a chuckle, it was an actual laugh. Her eyes were sparkling and her face lit up as she covered her mouth with her hand to suppress the sound.

"Dude." Punk cleared his throat and my attention snapped to him. "What are you staring at?" Then, he followed my gaze and smirked. "Oh."

Matt followed my gaze to and looked back at me. "Relax, they're just friends. They're probably just catching up, it's been awhile since they had time to talk." He shrugged.

"Mhhmm, is that why she's laughing?" I shook my head.

"You love her." Punk still had that smirk plastered to his face and the way his eyes gleamed made me want to smack it right off.

"I-I do not." I stated, shocked.

"Sure you don't." The Chicago native rolled his eyes. "Look, here comes the rest of the bunch." He gestured his head toward the door and I looked just in time to see Adam and Jay walk in to join Shay and Chris. Jay pushed Chris in farther so he could sit down and Adam sat next to Shay, throwing an arm over the back of her seat.

"Great." I muttered sarcastically. "Why can't she be that comfortable around me? Matt, give me some pointers. Anything to get to know her better."

"Because you're not Canadian." Punk chimed, ignoring my second comment, and Matt reached across the table to smack him upside the head. "Or North Carolinian, for that matter." He rolled his eyes as he held his head where Matt smacked him.

Matt rolled his own eyes. "It's not that, you don't have to be Canadian or North Carolinian."

"Pardon me, don't forget British."

Matt smacked him again. "John, relax, okay? She likes you, more than she likes half the people on the show. She's just learned that she shouldn't put it all out in one week or a month. See that?" He gestured to where Shay was laughing and chatting with her friends. "That takes years to accomplish. It took us years to figure her out and have her completely open up to us. They were around her for many, many years, longer than any of us and they've achieved her trust and loyalty. Besides, I can't help you. It's something you have to do on your own. If you want to know something, be adamant, but don't pressure her. Sometimes she'll cooperate, sometimes she won't. Like I said, it's a process that could take years."

"Years?" I sighed again and rested my head in my palm. "Years…" I repeated. "I don't have that long." Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adam, Jay, and Chris stand up, hug Shay and bid her farewell. They waved as they walked out the door and she nodded while waving back.

She glanced around after they left and spotted us. Grabbing her coat, she slowly approached. "Um, h-hi Matt, John, P-Phil. How are you today?"

"Great." Punk smiled as he scooted in farther. "Have a seat." Glaring at him, I quickly smiled as Shay nodded and sat down. "So what was with your little entourage over there?"

"Oh, it was just us c-catching up. It's been a while since we all could sit down and talk. With Chris on Raw a lot, Adam injured and Jay on ECW, we hardly ever s-see each other. Also, C-Chris and I are friends again." She smiled sweetly.

"That's great." Matt commented with a smile. "How are you today?"

"F-fine." She nodded as she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. Shay wore light denim jeans with a white long sleeved shirt and black, fuzzy boots. Her hair was styled the way I told her it looked good and I couldn't help but smile as I looked at her. She was beautiful, even if she didn't flaunt every ounce of skin she had. It was…refreshing compared to some of the Divas. Her silent, gentle approach and quiet voice was great compared to some of the whiny, obnoxious people I worked with.

"You're coming to the New Year's party, right Shay?" Punk asked and both Matt and I glared at him before Shay looked up.

"I-I wasn't aware that I was invited. I'm not the best at parties…"

"So? You'll miss out on a lot of fun."

"N-no, I'll miss out on watching a lot of fun. I never get involved, there's always too many people t-there anyways. Like Michelle, Layla, Maria…"

"Girl, don't worry about them." Matt smiled reassuringly at her. "Besides, you don't have to go. It'll be fine."

"I-I'll think about it." She smiled sweetly again as her gaze fell on me. "John, are you alright? You haven't said anything…"

"I'm fine." I smiled. "I just…spaced out."

"Well, it's been a blast, but I gotta go." Punk stated and Shay got up to let him out. Matt stood as well.

"Yeah, I gotta run to. Bye John, Shay." He nodded and gave Shay a hug before the duo left. Shay sat back down across from me and chuckled.

"Why do I have a feeling they p-purposely abandoned us?"

"I don't know." I murmured as I studied her. A questioned burned in my mind and I remembered what Matt said. Be adamant, but don't pressure her into talking about something she isn't comfortable with. Sighing, I went for it. "Shay?"

"Yes?"

"When you said that you were hit by a guy before, what did you mean?"

She frowned and shook her head. "It was j-just a bad boyfriend. Don't worry about it, I-I'm fine now."

"Who was it?" I asked and she looked down.

"Nobody important." She stated and I knew it was a very touchy subject. "Um, I-I have to go." Shay stood up to leave, grabbing her coat and purse. Standing up, I followed her outside.

"Can you tell me who?"

"No." She replied.

"You don't have to tell me his full name, can you tell me his first?"

Again, she shook her head.

"Shay, I just want to know more about you, how can I do that if I can't dig deeper?"

She spun around to look at me. Tears and welled up in her eyes and were slowly making their way down her cheeks. "John, I'm just not ready to talk a-about it, okay?"

I opened my mouth to protest, almost ready to say something about the family and how I was practically the only one she wouldn't share these secrets with. Stopping myself, I remembered that I didn't want to push her away. I didn't want to upset her, or hurt her; the roster did enough of that themselves. Closing my mouth, I nodded and pulled her into a hug, wrapping my arms around her waist while hers cautiously moved up to my shoulders. "Okay. I'm sorry, Shay. You can tell me whenever you're ready."

"T-Thank you." She murmured, drying her tears.

Omniscient POV

Neither of them noticed the platinum blond watching them from the park bench on the street, frowning as the couple made up after the 'fight' they just had. They didn't notice his glaring eyes as they peered through thick sunglasses over a newspaper he bought as a cover. And neither could notice the malicious thoughts churning inside his mind.