Thanks for the feedback, and quick note that this chapter is AJ's side of things instead of Dolph's like the last couple of chapters. I thought mixing things up again would be better for this. Enjoy!
Thursday 4th October
Quitting WWE never felt like it could be a possibility for AJ. Since she was 12 years old, she longed to be a diva, to be a part of the billion dollar company that millions of others dream of working for. AJ has sacrificed so much, and has literally starved herself to get where she is today, and all in all, a lifetime of hard work paid off and she was living the dream. The only thing she hasn't done that she really wanted to do was become diva's champion, but she had done so many other things in her career such as become general manager, be in main events and play a role in major storylines. AJ had gotten the opportunity to do everything she ever wanted to do, and everything was even better than she had imagined as a child.
So it seems pretty damn unbelievable that she now wanted to leave.
Dolph Ziggler. Best friend, work colleague, possibly her true love. AJ might even go as far to say that he was her soul mate. The child version of her would be ragging her by the hair and telling her that she was deranged for even contemplating leaving because of him. But isn't that what love does? It drives us crazy. It makes us irrational and confused, and leaves us not knowing what to do with our lives. And AJ wanted to get away from it. Dolph is with Layla, and being around them, especially after her fight with her, it was too much to handle. Being a lovesick woman over her best friend was the last thing she wanted, so the only real way of getting away from it was leaving WWE.
But it wasn't just him that was now making her want to leave. There were other various factors that played into it. For instance, she was missing her family. They lived in Puerto Rico, and AJ hasn't seen them in so long. The only time she really gets to communicate with them is by text or email, and it was becoming tedious. The first thing that AJ planned on doing after resigning was hopping on a plane to Puerto Rico and seeing them. But after that… she didn't have a clue.
AJ didn't know what to do next. Maybe she would move states, work a few indy circuits. Some of the best moments she's had in her life were when she was working as an independent wrestler. It wouldn't be the worst thing to go back to that.
She noticed the time on her watch that read '7:05'. Her plane to Stamford would be boarding soon so she needed to get up. She quickly buried her face in her hands and started rubbing her tired eyes. AJ didn't get much sleep last night, mainly from thinking far too much about Dolph and her future. It was a stressful time, and she was paying the price for it with her exhaustion. She picked up the bag that was placed on the chair next to her and stood up from where she was sitting.
She instantly collided with someone who was standing right in front of her.
A stern look plastered on to his face.
He wasn't happy.
Dolph.
"What are y-you doing here?" AJ stuttered. She was stunned that he even knew that she was here at the airport at such an early time.
"Kaitlyn told me you were here." His tone was cold and serious, which scared AJ a little bit. "She also told me about your little plan to leave. I'm here right now for you to tell me that this is all some pathetic joke."
AJ looked away from him, feeling so guilty that she didn't let him in on this life changing decision. "It's not a joke, Dolph. I know it's pretty big news, but I think it's for the best and-"
"No, don't be such an idiot!" He raised his voice, attracting the attention of a lot of passers-by in the airport.
"Don't raise your voice at me, Ziggler!" She snapped back. "I'm not having this argument here."
"Oh, so when are we going to have this argument then, AJ? Huh? Were you planning on discussing this with me after you had stupidly handed in your resignation, or were you not going to talk to me about it at all?"
"It's my decision okay, I don't have to involve you in every single aspect of my life!"
Dolph bit on his tongue to keep from arguing with her in the middle of this huge airport, so instead, he grabbed onto her hand and laced his fingers through hers, dragging her away from prying eyes. AJ cursed the fact that she got major butterflies fluttering around in her tummy from feeling his hand in hers, because now she was extremely pissed off that he had come out here to ultimately call her pathetic.
The two of them finally stopped in a corner of the airport where hardly anyone was around. "You don't have to involve me in every aspect of your life, AJ, I don't expect you to do that." He tried to sound calm. "But when you are about to get on a plane and quit your dream job, that is something I expect you to come and talk to me about first."
"But if I would have come to you, you would have only talked me out of it."
"You're damn right I would have talked you out of it!" He countered back. "I'm sorry, maybe I'm just a little too tired because your freaking best friend woke me up far too early today, but I cannot understand why you would want to leave WWE. You love it so much."
AJ folded her arms and then started to replay some of the memories she's had while working in WWE. There were some truly remarkable times there, and she did love it so much, maybe even too much. But working alongside Dolph after everything, continuing to try and suppress the strong feelings that she had for him deep inside just so she could be a good friend… it was too much to bear.
Dolph shuffled a little closer to AJ and bended his knees slightly so he was more on her eye level. "Is it because of me?" He asked her, and AJ glanced at him, but looked away again.
"It's not just because of you." She spoke through gritted teeth. "You are partly to do with it, but there are other reasons."
"You're not leaving, AJ. I refuse to be a part of why you leave a job that you've been dying to have since you were a little girl, there is no way I'm going to stand for that!"
"Well, you don't get to have a say in the matter, okay?" She stated. "Look, I only decided on leaving last night when I was talking to Kait, so I'm not sure that I'm gonna quit today or whatever… but that doesn't even matter, Dolph. It's my decision, so don't tell me what I can and can't do."
Dolph clenched his fists tightly into a ball and looked up at the ceiling. He was truly frustrated with AJ being so intent with leaving. AJ could see that she was causing him a lot of distress, and it was starting to pain her. She needed to get away from this tension between them, and luckily for her, she had a plane she needed to catch very soon.
"I have to get on the flight to Stamford, so-"
"How dare you." He cut her off with three words that she wasn't expecting.
"Excuse me?" She replied.
"You heard me. Do you realise how selfish you're being here?"
Was he really being this way with her? He comes out to insult her and call her names such as selfish and pathetic. She was really starting to wonder why she loved this man so much. "Selfish? I don't need to hear stuff like this from you okay Dolph, I need to go."
AJ picked up her bags and was about to storm off until Dolph uttered some words to stop her in her tracks. "Layla broke up with me last night."
AJ's body went stiff and she couldn't move a muscle. She was processing what he had just said to her. He was single. No Layla as his girlfriend anymore. Likely because of her. She couldn't work out whether she was over the moon or felt guilty for playing a part in this break up.
"Layla broke up with you?" She asked as she turned around to face him again, dropping her bags to the floor.
"Yeah, she broke up with me. After her fight with you and everything, she left me. I couldn't even stop her from leaving me, and do you know why?"
AJ shook her head slightly, and the guilt was really hitting her now because she knew she had been the vital factor in their break up. "She broke up with me because she believes that I am in love with you."
Her jaw dropped open and tears were threatening to leak from her eyes. The way Dolph looked right now was a mixture of furious, upset and calm. That was a weird combination of emotions to describe his current state, but that's what he was like. The way he delivered his sentences, she could tell that he was angry and upset over losing Layla, yet he was trying to stay cool and calm because it was hard for him to be mean to her.
"She said that she's always felt that way." He continued. "And last night was basically the final straw for her. When she asked me if I could be honest and tell her that I didn't feel anything for you as more than a friend, I didn't even know what to say. There I was, sat with my emotional girlfriend on my bed and I couldn't tell her that I didn't feel something for my best friend. And it's all because you fucked with my head last night when you told me that you were in love with me. So there, that's why you're selfish."
AJ's mouth stayed open in shock over his words. It seemed like every time he said something else to her, she was getting a stab right to the heart. She didn't know how to digest what he had said. AJ had confused him, made him unsure of how to feel. Isn't that exactly how she's been like for the past few months?
"I'm sorry that I messed with your head." She said sadly. "That's… that's not what I intended to do at all."
They both didn't say anything after that. Brown and blue eyes fixed on each other's. A range of emotions were being felt by both of them. AJ knew she had to hurry and catch that flight, but under his intense gaze and just when he was getting deep with this conversation, she couldn't move. Her feet physically felt like they were glued onto the floor.
Dolph took a few steps towards her, which caused her heart rate to speed up. "Sorry isn't good enough right now. You know, like I said earlier, Kaitlyn woke me up this morning. She called me an idiot for leaving you last night, and I felt so guilty for doing so, and then she told me about your plans to leave WWE. How is it fair that she should make me feel bad for leaving you after you told me you loved me, but it's okay for you to decide to pretty much leave my life?"
Another stab right to the chest. "I don't know." She mumbled.
"See? It's selfish of you, AJ." He spat. "It's selfish that you are planning on walking out of my life without even telling me first, and you know what else is selfish? How you found out about how I felt about you, and you knew how happy Layla has made me over the past couple of months, and still, you drop the bombshell of you being in love with me, and ruin everything."
His tone was becoming increasingly more vicious. Yet another metaphorical stab to her heart. She kind of wished they were real stabs, just so she didn't have to endure the emotional pain and guilt he was inflicting on her. "I- I'm sorry, Dolph. I swear to you, I'm sorry."
Dolph shook his head and out of the corner of her eye, she could see his hands were no longer curled up into fists. That meant he was loosening up a bit. Maybe that was a good sign.
"While Kaitlyn was in my room this morning, she also asked me if I was in love with you. I couldn't even answer. I told her that I felt like I needed more time to think things over, because so much had happened in one night, I felt confused. But on the way over here…"
He took even more steps towards her so now he was barely a few inches away from her body, and he brushed a strand of hair from her face. His touch sent a shiver down her spine.
"…I thought about everything. I was so angry AJ, and I still am. But not for the reasons that I've just mentioned. I'm angry at you because I do know how I feel deep down, and what I feel is that I am madly in love with you. It angers me that even though I should not want anything to do with you after messing with my head so bad, all I want to do right now is kiss you, and let you know how amazing you truly are, no matter how selfish I've just made you out to be."
Those words didn't feel like a stab to her chest this time. Instead, it felt like her heart stopped for a moment, or as if time stood still and everything was going by in slow motion. So many times she had imagined him telling her he loves her too, but never had she thought that it would happen this way. The way he had just said everything was so mind boggling.
"I don't… I'm so confused right now."
Dolph chuckled in response. This man seemed angry at her a few minutes ago, and now he was laughing and had a look in his eye like he really was in love with her. "To rephrase what I just said in a better way… I love you so much, AJ. I'm sorry it's taken me until now to admit this to you and also myself, but so much has gotten in the way, but I am in love with you."
A tear rolled down AJ's cheek, and she quickly wiped it away and chuckled just how Dolph did not that long ago. She was tired of crying lately, and in some weird way even though he'd insulted her, this was the moment she had been waiting for. He told her he loved her. The two of them were in love.
"How on earth do you go from telling me I'm selfish to telling me you love me?" She laughed.
"I don't know," He smiled back at her. "I think I needed to get my anger out before I told you how I really feel."
AJ wasn't sure what to do next, and all she could do was stare into his blue eyes and revel in this moment where their true feelings had both been revealed. She had actually forgotten that she was supposed to be boarding a flight right about now.
"So what do we do now?" She asked.
"First, you need to promise me that you are not going to leave the company, and that you're not going to leave me after I've finally been honest about how I feel."
She didn't even need to think about that one. AJ had tried to convince herself that it wasn't just because of Dolph why she wanted to leave, but it was. She couldn't bear the thought of being around him if she'd poured her heart out and nothing came of it. But he had now returned her love, and leaving wasn't even in the cards now. "Deal. I'll stay in WWE and with you. What's the second thing?"
"The second and final thing is this…"
Dolph intertwined his fingers in between hers and smiled brightly. He then leaned down, and pressed his lips to hers. Their first proper kiss as more than just best friends. It was soft, gentle and everything AJ had dreamed of it being and more. His mouth moved against hers in a perfect rhythm that made her insides tingle in the best possible way. She almost cursed out loud when he ended the kiss and slowly pulled away from her.
"So, you actually are in love with me." AJ whispered to him as his head was still rather close to hers. It was hard to keep a smile off her face right now. It's strange how being told you are loved by someone can change your mood so drastically. She is happy. She is blissful. All the pain and heartache felt like it was worth it just to be in this moment.
"Yes, I am." He replied. "I am in love with my best friend."
Are you guys happy that they're finally together now? I am! The story hasn't finished folks, I think I may be able to give you some chapters of them together as more than just friends. Let me know what you thought of this chapter and I hope you liked it. :)