Disclaimer: This story is entirely fictional. I only have created and can take credit for the original characters. The WWE Superstars are merely based on their TV personas and some of my own fictional embellishment! ENJOY!
Fanning The Flames
Chapter 36
Dean
Raven was waiting for us when we exited the building. She was leaned up against the back of our SUV. Her lips formed a half smile when her eyes caught a glimpse of us. She seemed to be doing alright.
"You okay?" Roman asked her. She nodded adamantly.
"Just needed a minute."
"Good."
"If we're done here, we should get on the road we've got a two hour drive ahead of us tonight!" Seth mentioned quickly.
"I take that enthusiasm as you want to drive?" I asked with a chuckle. I surely didn't want to be on drive duty tonight.
"Yesh, sure. I'll drive." I turned to see Raven getting into the backseat. Roman quickly climbed in in the other side.
"Guess I got shotgun," I said with a shrug.
The drive was fairly quiet, with the exception of the radio quietly playing. Everybody seemed lost in thought. About 45 minutes into the drive to see Raven sound asleep against Romans chest. His arm was draped over her body comfortably. Her earbuds were plugged into her ears. She looked peaceful. Seth must have noticed her sleeping state too because suddenly he looked at me frustrated.
"I didn't want to say anything in front of Raven, but you know you might have just fucked us back there," Seth said seriously.
"We'll be fine."
"The Authority is pissed about your outburst on their golden boy. We all know it. Now we are sitting ducks."
"Well I'd rather be on the shit list than allow our teammate get sexually harassed in the ring. What he did wasn't okay and I won't apologize for what I did. I stand by it."
"Roman? Care to weigh in?" Seth was looking for Roman to take his side. Often times that as the case but something about his hesitation meant otherwise this time.
"Honestly, if Dean wouldn't have done or said something, I would. Our relationship with the Authority is important, yes, but our relationship with the Shield is greater. Our friendship with Raven and each other should be above that," he said softly. I silently relished being backed by the Samoan.
"I agree that what Randy did was awful. I hated that he disrespected her that way. I just am not sure that we went about it the right way."
"I'll admit the approach was a little lacking in the thinking it through department but it got the point across. The Authority didn't seem mad enough to toss us to the curb just yet. So lets not get ahead of ourselves."
"You might be right. I just think that we all need to consult each other before doing things that could effect the rest of the group like that," Seth said very seriously.
"That's fair. Right, Dean?" Roman asked carefully. He seemed to be the mediator a lot lately.
"Yeah, I guess. Raven has to meet with Stephanie tomorrow evidently. After she has, we'll have a better idea about where we go from here. So lets not go into panic mode until we have to...if we have to."
"You're right. I may be freaking out and over reacting. But if we are in the dog house for this, it's your fault and you are going to be the one to fix it!" Seth said a little grumpy. Raven stirred and we all froze for a few seconds.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever!" I whispered. With that the conversation dropped off.
Raven
By morning, a certain level of stress and tension had dissipated from the group. By afternoon, normalcy had sunk back in completely, much to my relief. The previous night was so chaotic, normalcy just felt nice. The four of us hopped into the car to head to our last few media stops for the day before heading to Smackdown.
"Stone, what's the next stop?" Dean called out from the passenger seat. I looked at the itinerary.
"Looks like we are heading to a news station. Recording a segment for the to play on the five and six O'clock shows."
"Aww man," Seth whined.
"Don't worry Seth, you don't have to be on camera...looks like this one is just for me and the Titty Master!" I joked.
"Lucky me! The camera can't get enough of this handsome, rugged mug!" Dean mused with a cheeky grin. We all laughed.
"Just don't go making me look bad or else we might have a problem, Ambrose!" I counted.
"Noted. Just know that my charm is completely out of my control."
"Naturally!"
We arrived at the station and were quickly escorted through the building. Dean and I were directed to a room to get ready while the tag champs were taken elsewhere, presumably to watch. Our room had a big lit mirror. I whipped my purse onto the counter and grabbed my makeup out. I wasted no time touching up my bronzer, layering on another layer of eyeliner, and throwing on a coat of gloss onto my lips. Dean sat quietly on the couch in the corner, his title over his shoulder.
"Aren't you going to get ready?" I asked seriously.
"Nah, im ready," he insisted.
"You can't go out there like that!"
"Like what? I'm fine." He reached his hands up and ran his fingers through his hair. I stared at him for a second with my arms crossed.
"That hair is all over the damn place. Can you please look presentable on t.v.!?"
"I look like this on tv all the time."
"Yes, but that's when you are beating the shit out of somebody, so it's acceptable! Not so much on the news! Come here and just let me fix it," I said with a sigh.
"I'm not getting up, Stone," he declared with a cheeky grin.
"Fine." I grabbed a comb and a bottle of water before marching to him. "You seriously wont just stand up?"
"Nope. Your are the one who wants to fix it, not me," he mentioned with a casual shrug. He was such a smug shithead sometimes. He looked at me curiously, wondering what my next move was. A look of surprise crossed his face as I climbed onto the couch. I threw a leg onto each side of him so I was left sitting on his lap, straddling him.
"Hmmm interesting approach!" He murmured softly as he placed his hands on my waist, I assumed for stability.
"Thought you might like the view," I shot back as I carefully poured some water onto his hair. I tussled it a bit. "Alright...this should be good."
"Yeah?" He asked, his warm, minty breath gently touching my face.
"Yeah," I said with a giggle. We locked eyes for a moment, neither of us moving. His light eyes twinkled.
"Hey guys, I- " a male voice said as he came through the door, startling us. He quickly ducked back behind the door. "Oh sorry! I should have knocked, I didn't know you guys were...Sorry!"
"It's alright! We weren't-" I insisted, realizing what this precarious situation may look like.
"Oh! no explanation needed! You guys are on in five!" he said closing the door. Dean and I burst into a fit of laughter.
"Maybe I should get off you now," I said softly. He slowly released his hands from my body.
"That guy is traumatized now!"
"Well that'll teach him not to knock!"
"Do people really screw each other in dressing rooms?" He asked.
"Evidently. We won't be finding out today," I teased.
Finally, it was time to record our segment with a anchor named Barb.
"Today I'm joined by two professional wrestlers. Please welcome WWE superstars Dean Ambrose and Raven Stone! Welcome!
"Thanks for having us, Barb," I said politely.
"So I understand that you guys are performing tonight!"
"We are we will be wrestling tonight on Smackdown! There are still some tickets available so if you hurry, you might still be able to come watch us do our thing live!"
"How wonderful! So you two are on a team together, correct?"
"Yeah, well it was originally a trio. Me and our tag champs, Seth and Roman. A few months ago we uh.. acquired Raven. We'll we won her managerial services and she's been with us ever since," he said casually.
"So you dont wrestle? You manage?" Her tone was a little accusatory. I put on my best smile, hiding my displeasure.
"Well I do both. I always have. I've just gotten in the ring a little more recently than I have been the last few years."
"That's great. How is it being on the road?"
"It's amazing. We get to do what we love every day all over the world. Add in the fact that I get to do so with my buddies, its fantastic. Its the dream."
"I've got to agree with Dean. It's such surreal thing. Its an added bonus that I get to be with the guys on adventures every day. From the moment I wake up until the moment I lay my head down on the pillow at night I'm with these guys," I said with a laugh.
"What are the arrangements here? Is it different because you are a woman on a team of men?" She asked curiously.
"We treat her like we treat the rest of the guys. The four of us share two rooms. We all have our own beds. She changes along side us in our locker room. The Shield is a unit and we wouldn't dare treat her as any less than a man. Shes a woman who holds her own and contributes just as much as the rest of us," he snapped. I was grateful for him jumping in. The sexism with women in sports was ridiculous.
"Oh. That's unusual...so Raven, have you dated any of your teammates or fellow wrestlers?" She chirped. I felt my cheeks redden.
"Uh...I...I would prefer not to speak about my private life," I sputtered nervously.
"Next question," Dean growled at Barb. This was not turning out to be a good interview.
Dean
Despite the slightly horrific interview, we still were exiting the building in good spirits, we headed down the corridor as a unit.
"Hey! Guys!" A voice called out from down the hall.
"Uh yeah?" Seth asked curiously.
"Be careful going out there to your car. Seems like a lot of fans are out there!"
"Don't worry, we are used to it about now," he reassured him. I rolled my eyes. They all liked to make me out to be the ego but mine sure wasn't the biggest around here.
We passed the man and neared exiting the building. Very quickly, we realized how crazy it really was...especially since there was no WWE employed security at our disposal.
"So how would we like to do this?" I asked with a chuckle. "I mean, we do this all the time!" I added, making fun of Seth's previous remarks. He glared at me.
"Right, well I say we just barrel on through, quickly."
"Is that alright with everyone?" I asked. Roman and Raven nodded. "Lead the way, Seth."
He looked nervous as he opened the last door and started to walk outside. I followed close behind him. We smiled and waved to the adoring fans but kept moving. We finally reached he car. Thats when I realized that Raven and Roman weren't with us.
"What the hell!?" Rollins groaned. I looked around spotting them in the crowd. Raven had stopped to take photos with a little girl holding a Raven poster. She smiled and autographed it for the girl happily. Roman stood next to her grinning before getting into a photo of his own with a fan.
I looked away to check my phone when I heard Raven raise her voice.
"Please get your hands off of me! Stop!" She growled trying to yank her arm from his grasp. Roman quickly swooped in.
"You better take your damn hands off of her before we have a problem," I heard him threaten. The man let go.
"Thank you."
"Sorry folks, we have to go!" He announced to the fans. He wrapped a protective arm around Raven and headed to the car. I couldn't help but notice the way she always nestled into the Samoan. She was very comfortable with him...safe. He always seemed to know when she needed him. He always happened to be by her side. It happened at the bar, during Money In The Bank, today...it was uncanny.
"What a shit show!" She remarked as she climbed into the back seat.
"No kidding. Lets get the fuck out of here and get to Smackdown." Raven was quiet... she was dreading her one on one conversation with Stephanie tonight. We all were dreading the outcome...
I just want to thank you for taking the time to check out this story. It's been getting a lot of views and it means so much to me that you guys seem to be liking it so far. I have been having so much fun writing it. I hope you all will keep on reading to see what Raven gets herself into and see more of the Shield's shenanigans! Feel free to leave me some more reviews and feedback!