Midterms hit harder than a hangover following a night on the town. Studying without the "stu" was always going to differ depending on the student and what unforgiving task, project, or exam they were assigned for the end of the first quarter of the year, or the mid-semester break, but the mental and physical toll it oftentimes took was a universal feeling across the board.
SU's battling Titans schedule with the rest of the nation's independents gave them two byes, one during Thanksgiving week and another falling on the week of Fall break like the year prior. The spirits for the gridiron gang were at a decline mostly because of the sidelining of their residential "Concussion Artist" Dean Ambrose, and their heartbreaking loss to both Notre Dame and UConn; Both of which should've been walk-away wins for SU. Still, the break was much needed as the Titans walked into their first bye 3-2.
Dean was in pain, to say the least. A little over a week after the injury that put an end to his season, he went in for surgery on his shredded ACL. Through a donor, Dean was able to have a new ligament attached where his old one had worn through. Though he would now be able to walk without much pain in the future, for now, he was under strict orders from his doctor not to walk at all and keep his leg elevated and on ice as often as possible for the next 4-6 weeks. Since Alexa was gone during the day with student-teaching, a helping hand came in the form of Alexa's returning best friend, AJ Lee. The previously eccentric psychopath was more than happy to help her best friend's fiance in little things like cooking, helping him walk to the bathroom, and other simple tasks Dean was now unable to do during recovery.
Alexa's student-teaching endeavors hadn't dipped below "excellent" since her first day. She was loving teaching, just like she always knew she would. Both Ms. Tessmacher and Miss Holly showed praise in Alexa's natural ability to fall into the roles a teacher needed to handle. Alexa in part thanked the older women for their feedback and guidance, and dished out the latest SU gossip during lunch as a thank you in return.
Zack and Bayley's journey into parenthood still had several weeks to go until the arrival of their twin babies. Bayley's mid-term exams were all online and had to be done while on a video call with a moderator to prevent cheating, not that Bayley needed to bend the rules of the test to pass. She did, with flying colors as she expected, and celebrated her success with dinner at Spicolli's with her loving husband.
Zack's own mid-terms were a cakewalk. He pretty much had everything he needed to know ready and didn't stress when he went into Monday and Tuesday. To add to his self-pride, Ryder's relationship with the neighbors had improved. Since Sammy and the rest of his roommates rushed BPO and had begun the process of joining the brotherhood, it was like there never was an awkward encounter in the first place. Zack didn't feel at all sorry about watching Sammy go through the same trials he did just a little over a year prior, especially since the young Cuban always seemed to come out the other end grinning from ear to ear with his obnoxious personality still intact.
Charlotte and Becky's relationship managed to stay relatively low-key for the most part. Aside from the two young lovers, the only other people that knew of their blossoming relationship was Becky's parents, John and Siobhan, and of course Finn and Liv. Parent's weekend was hard for Charlotte, to put it lightly, but Becky's parents treated her as one of their own and took the couple out for dinner. Siobhan and John just felt happy that their little girl seemed content with the woman in her life.
Dean hated asking for help when he needed it. To him, not being able to perform a task was a sign of weakness. Shredding his ACL and sitting out the rest of his Sophomore year was killing Dean more than he let show. It didn't get any better when Patricia, Dean's adoptive mom, offered to fly out to SU to help take care of him. Dean insisted that he was ok, but Mrs. Reigns didn't relent until Alexa called her and ensured she had everything under control; Having his mother take care of him on college property may have been the death of him.
Watching Alexa's pint-sized best friend clean up after him didn't help his self-destructive thoughts either. While he laid on the couch with his knee propped and on ice, AJ tidied up the apartment, did the dishes, and cooked Dean food whenever he was hungry. Dean did bring up his concerns with her already, but AJ wasn't hearing it; She said that taking care of her friend's fiance was an apology for the way she treated both of them the previous Spring.
AJ, wearing a comical chef's hat, brought Dean a bowl of beef stew. Dean sat up as far as he could and happily accepted the soup.
"Thanks, AJ," Dean said with a sigh.
"No problem, numbnuts," said AJ as she skipped back into the kitchen to fix herself some food.
Dean dug in. Besides Alexa, of course, and his mom, AJ was probably the best cook Dean knew. Of course, that was a little surprising, since Dean always thought the only things AJ knew how to cook was meth or gunpowder. Beef stew and french fries were apparently her specialties though, and she was more than happy to cook whenever she or Dean needed food.
"How is it?" AJ asked, a hopeful tone in her voice.
"It's fucking amazing," Dean muttered through a mouthful of steak.
AJ tucked her legs underneath herself and sat back on the love seat. She blew onto a spoonful of her soup, then scooped it into her mouth.
"Need anything else?" AJ asked, looking at the TV but speaking to Dean. "Ice? Water? 'Sloppy-top sixty-two-hundred'?"
Dean sounded a single laugh. "I think that's the one thing I won't let you do for me."
AJ shrugged. "Play your cards right at the lake this weekend and maybe Alexa and I will."
Dean rolled his head to his shoulder, looking directly at AJ. "Are you being serious?" He asked.
AJ shook her head. "Of course not. We're past that. I'm just really friggin' horny. I haven't gotten laid since I got out of the pen. Well, Abadon did finger me a little but that didn't do much."
"There was a person named 'Abadon' there?" Dean asked, taken by surprise.
"Her name was 'Julie' but she thought she was a knight of Hell when she refused to take her meds," AJ told. "I think I mentioned her in Orlando."
Dean blinked, then shook his head. "As much as I'd love to, I'm pretty sure another threesome is off the table. I know you're better, and you really are doing awesome, but I don't think it's the best idea."
AJ smiled softly. "Thanks, Dean. It means a lot that you think I'm doing better. I was super fucking worried that they'd adjust my meds and I'd just be the same crazy psycho bitch, or worse."
"Well, you haven't fucked Seth yet, so I'd say you're doing ok," Dean joked.
AJ chuckled dryly. "No... definitely not doing that again." She switched her train of thought and consumed more steamy beef broth. "Maybe a loose handy while you FaceTime the Mrs.?"
Dean chuckled. "No. She'd kick my ass. Wasn't the worst experience in the bedroom for me, but Cabo is for sure the last time you and I are in any way naked in the same bed."
"What is?" AJ asked.
Dean looked across the room again. "What is what?" He asked.
"Your worst time in the bedroom?" AJ asked. She giggled a bit when Dean rolled his eyes. "Dude, seriously. If I can have you literally inside me, you can tell me about the worst chick you've been with. Was it me? Dude, fuck you if you say it's me."
Dean shook his head with a grin. "No, no... it was my Junior year. I was with this girl from Chem, for some fuckin' reason, probably told her I had notes or some bullshit. Anyway, I was giving it to her hard. And I mean fucking borderline assault hard. She's screaming and thrashing around, making a huge deal about it. Then her fuckin' dad bursts into the room. I guess he was home early from work or some shit. Anyway, he comes after me and I'm running around the room trying to get my clothes and shit. It was just like the movies."
AJ laughed. "How the hell did you get out of there?"
"Juked out her dad and flew down the stairs," Dean recalled with a grin. "Started running down the street in just my underwear. Got about three blocks before I jumped behind some bushes and got dressed. I never talked to her again after that. Just too embarrassing."
"Always the heartthrob, huh?" AJ giggled.
"Apparently..." Dean sighed; He liked telling stories and re-telling old tales of his past with women, but his relationship with Alexa made him reflect on a lot of them and made him realize he wasn't the 'nicest' person in the world to those girls. He cleared his throat, getting back on track. "What about you?" He asked.
"This asshole in Cabo came on my face when I was blowing him in the shower," AJ told with a chuckle. "But he bought me an ice cream sundae after."
Dean furrowed his brow. "I didn't cum... oh, fucks sake..." He cringed, making AJ burst out laughing.
Just then, the front door popped open. Seth, with Toni in tow, stepped into the apartment carrying a twelve-pack of Dean's favorite beer.
"Well, look at this shit!" Dean yelled out with a laugh.
"Figured you needed a little hydration for your knee," Seth told his buddy, dropping the case of beer next to him on the couch.
Dean and Seth exchanged a fist bump. After a moment of slight awkward staring, Seth and AJ hugged. Things between the former lovers were... complicated, to say the least. The day AJ came back, she went to Seth's apartment to talk with him. To say AJ was heartbroken when a tall, blonde, broad-waisted woman answered the door in one of Seth's band tees would be the understatement of the century. AJ managed to play it off as just wanting to visit and things were more or less the same before she left.
"What are you guys up to?" Asked Dean as he popped the tab on his first beer.
"I gotta do commentary for the baseball game today," Seth told.
Dean exclaimed in frustration with himself. "Fuck! I forgot I was supposed to do that this week."
Seth chuckled. "Yeah, well, he texted me and I said I'd cover for you. So just give me the master bedroom at the cabin and we'll call it even."
"Fight Lexi or Bayley for one of them and it's all yours," Dean offered with a snicker.
"Yeah, on second thought, I want to live to see twenty," Seth said, making Dean chuckle. He glanced over to the love seat where his current and former love interests were making light chatter; They seemed to be getting along quite nicely, which was a relief to Seth. Toni knew all about AJ and what she and Seth went through the second half of the year prior. Cheating, comfort, and some deplorable choices were mostly what Seth and AJ's entire relationship was built upon, but Seth promised all issues were resolved between the two.
AJ connected her gaze with Seth for a moment. In that split second, Seth's brow lifted slightly. The unmistakable look of affection in the cheerleader's eyes caught him off guard, but not in a negative way. Seth expected rage and possibly finding one of his limbs missing when he woke up from a nap, but AJ was mild-tempered and seemingly happy to see Seth. Considering how things ended last July during the wedding, that was the most shocking part about AJ's return to campus.
"I gotta get goin'," Toni announced as she stood from the couch and exchanged a quick peck with Seth. "Coach wants Special Teams to get together and watch film. Dunno how the freakin' kick returner got out of it."
"Starting offense," Seth shot back with a grin.
Toni bid farewell to the other three. Seth watched her leave, then turned back to the judgemental looks from his best friend and his former lover.
"What?" Seth asked the room.
"You're just begging to get your ass kicked, aren't you?" Dean quipped.
"Whatever you say, dude," Seth chuckled, but in the back of his brain, he knew Dean was only being cautious for him.
The early stages of a relationship could determine how the remainder of the duration plays out. If something awry occurs right out of the gate, then that would surely mean that only troubling things were to come. Charlotte and Becky's blooming romantic affair was not one of those unfortunate situations.
The past few weeks had been blissful secrecy. Becky and Charlotte didn't act affectionate at all in the public eye to avoid drawing any unwanted attention, from the paparazzi or otherwise. Charlotte admitted that she was still getting used to the fiery love she felt for her Irish friend, which Becky understood completely. In a sort of bitter-sweet ironic way, Becky's rocky relationship with Sasha prepared her to be more patient and accepting of women she was with who may or may have not been ready to embrace their sexuality. Charlotte was still taking time, and Becky was more than willing to let her figure things out at her own pace.
In public, no one would've guessed the two young women were involved romantically. But the moment they were in the privacy of Flair Hall, Becky didn't have a snowball's chance in Hell in keeping Charlotte off of her. That first experience they shared the day Sonya was kicked off campus must've unlocked something deep within Charlotte that made her want to be around Becky in a heavy state of undress as often as possible. Watching TV, cooking dinner, and just about anything else was apparently open season in Flair's eyes.
"Maybe a hungry libido is hereditary," Charlotte thought to herself with a breathy chuckle. Her heavy breathing was slowly starting to even out after a spontaneous desire to feel cherished. Becky was of course happy to oblige and forced Charlotte over the edge several times within an hour.
Becky sat back on her knees, flexing her fingers to chase away a cramp. She giggled and winked at the naked blonde watching her every move, to which Charlotte chuckled bashfully and covered her face with her hands.
"You're amazing, Bex," Charlotte praised, uncovering her eyes.
"Oh yeah?" Becky asked with a proud smirk. "Figured ya coulda used a little somethin' somethin' after t'ose camera dopes was bein' jackasses."
"I did. Thanks, baby," Charlotte cooed, blowing her friend a kiss.
Becky traced her fingertips over Charlotte's knee. "I'm... really excited about goin' to t'e lake with you. I t'ink more excited than I was last year." The words rolled off her tongue and made her blush. Becky liked to be a hopeless romantic to those she adored, but she still cringed at some of the things she heard herself say.
Charlotte nodded. "Me too. I just hope things aren't completely fucking awkward."
Becky crawled over her lover. "Only awkward if you make it that way..." She paused to share a quick kiss with the blonde beauty, then finished her thought. "Sasha isn't going and I t'ink Roman is bringing his new lady friend."
Charlotte said, "Yeah, it should be fine. Tessa seems like a great girl. I won't have to be completely ashamed of who I'm dating..."
Becky's chest felt a hot stab directly to her heart, but she kept a gentle smile on her face.
Charlotte quickly picked up her words. "'Ashamed' isn't the right word. I'm not ashamed about how I feel about you, Bex. I just... I don't need paparazzi all on my case about liking a girl while my dad's trial is still going on."
Becky nodded slowly. "I get it," she said, though she didn't. "It's hard sometimes for some people. I won't rush ya. Promise."
Charlotte grew a smirk, then pecked her lover on the lips. "Thanks, baby. I promise I'll make it up to you when we get to the lakehouse."
Becky cocked an eyebrow, a sly smirk growing across her lips as well. "Oh? Will you return the favor fer me?" She asked, tracing a light pattern on Charlotte's toned midsection.
Charlotte's seductive smile melted away to a nervous grimace. "I... kinda meant rubbing your feet... Fuck. I'm sorry. I should be kinda into... ya know... right?"
Becky kept her smile, though her inner monologue was groaning heavily and rolling its eyes. In recent weeks, Becky pleased Charlotte as many times as the blonde could stand. However, when the time came to return the favor, Charlotte was less than willing to do the same. A half-hearted effort with her fingers or a little pelvic rubbing was all Charlotte could perform. Becky wasn't sure why Charlotte was squeamish around the idea of performing oral herself, but she didn't know how to bring it up without upsetting Charlotte. So, to avoid conflict, Becky did whatever Charlotte needed her to do, then finished the job for herself, by herself, when Charlotte was asleep or in class.
"Don' have ta be," Becky said. "I wasn't always into it."
"Really?" Charlotte asked, a bit surprised by the thought.
"Yeah. It was... weird, at first. T'en I got used to it," Becky, of course, wasn't being entirely truthful. She was always willing to do what she had to so her lover felt the same high she did. Didn't matter what it was, to some extent, but she never shied away from doing something once.
"Thanks, babe," Charlotte reached up to caress the side of Becky's face with her fingertips. "Wanna help me pack? I'll... let you pick out the lingerie?"
Becky started to giggle. "That would be fun, yes," she managed to sneak out between laughs.
Charlotte exchanged one more deep smooch with her new lover. Becky swatted Flair's bottom when she rolled out of bed, which in turn made Charlotte wink at her as she walked off. Becky laid back on the bed, thinking about the incoming vacation as well as where the relationship could be headed.
Seth didn't know the first thing about commentating on sports. He liked baseball; He even went to a few baseball games with his dad when he was younger. But football was one of his passions, but he had no idea how to call a game for a radio station.
Seth sat up in the press booth overlooking the SU Titan's baseball stadium. It held roughly twenty thousand people, and it seemed like it was close to full capacity this sunny Autumn day. Baseball wasn't as popular or nationally covered like the football team was, but with Axel's connections with the campus' radio station, anyone within reasonable distance could tune in for the game.
For the occasion, Seth bought an SU Titans baseball cap. He wore it backward, but only wore a plain black tee and jeans to go along with the cap. Axel was all out with his generic SU baseball long-sleeve t-shirt, ball cap, and eye black.
"You nervous?" Axel asked, making any last-minute adjustments to the soundboard to ensure things ran smoothly.
Rollins shrugged one shoulder. "A little, I guess. I'm just reminding myself I can't swear."
"Yeah, please don't," Axel requested with a chuckle. "I busted my ass to get this job."
Seth looked out into the packed stadium. Somewhere below was Becky's friend, Finn, and his ex's boyfriend, Andrade; Those were about the only people Seth knew on the team. Axel was on the team, but he tweaked his knee during spring practice and decided to keep himself healthy for hockey in the Winter by sitting the season out. Other than that, Seth had to read from a roster sheet to make the calls.
"We'll be starting soon," Axel said. "National anthem, then I'll lead into it. Just follow my lead. No swearing, try to enunciate... other than that, I'm sure you'll do just fine."
Seth nodded. "Right on. Thanks, man."
After the singing of the National Anthem, the players took to the field. Since the Titans were the home team, they played in the outfield first. Their opponent for the day, South Eastern New York State Rangers, took at-bat first to start things off.
Axel switched a button on his microphone. "Goooood afternoon, SU baseball! This is the Ax-Man, Curtis Axel, bringing you a little play-by-play for today's game. Joining me in the booth is SU Titan football all-star, Seth Rollins. The football team has a bye week this week, so Seth decided to pay the booth a visit and watch some baseball. Seth, how are you doing today?"
Seth quickly responded. "I'm doing good, Axel, thanks for asking. As you said, it's a good day for baseball. The sun's out, it's not too cold, and I'm excited to see my Titans take home a W against the Rangers."
Axel continued talking. "Well said, my friend. SU's starting pitcher is off course the extremely lethal, Finn Balor. So far this season, Balor has pitched two no-hitters. Last week was the end of that streak, but SU did still walk away with a win. Perhaps today will be no different. First up to bat for SENY State is Ramond Rodriguez, a senior in his fourth year for the team... fastball straight up the middle, no swing, that's strike one for Rodriguez... next pitch, a wild one, juuuuuuust a bit outside. Must've slipped off Balor's fingers... third pitch and it's a pop fly to right field. Right-fielder Andrade Almas was able to get under it. Good hustle by Almas."
Seth rolled his eyes but spoke praise for the younger boy. "Gotta love the hard work by the defense. Almas was able to pick up a pretty nice catch."
As the defense reset, Rollins scanned his eyes over the cheering crowd. Near right field, where Andrade was playing, a certain tiny Latina was losing her mind for the boy. Seth took notice and immediately recognized his ex as the culprit. If the gushing from his ex, or the kiss Andrade blew to her, wasn't enough to make Seth dry heave, the glint of a diamond stud on her left ring finger made Seth's stomach sink. Seth moved on, to bigger and better things in his opinion, but to see that Zelina had already moved on that far ahead so soon wounded a bit of Seth's pride.
"I really need this fucking vacation," Rollins thought to himself, tuning back into the game.
"Why couldn't we just do the same fucking carpool assignments as last year?" Dean thought to himself, a little irritated that the group of friends headed up north were still arguing over who got to ride with who. To be fair, it was mostly because his knee was starting to throb without any ice, but the constant bickering wasn't helping either.
Alexa volunteered to drive Dean's trust Highlander, with Dean obviously taking up shotgun since he wasn't able to drive at the moment. Dana and AJ were already assumed to be riding with Alexa like they had the year prior. The problem arose with the massive Braun Strowman, who was accompanying everyone with his girlfriend, Sarah Logan. Charlotte claimed there wasn't a lot of legroom in her SUV and wasn't sure if Braun would fit, let alone be comfortable for the two-hour drive. Braun suggested he could just drive his pick-up, but Dean insisted he shouldn't be wasting gas when they all could easily share. Zack managed to situate his car to give Braun all the space he needed in the back row of his SUV, but that meant someone tiny would need to sit in the middle row. AJ agreed to travel with Ryder, and without a tantrum no less.
Charlotte drove her worn SUV, with Becky riding shotgun, Finn and Liv in the middle row, finally with Roman and Tessa in the back. Dean's Highlander carried himself, Alexa behind the wheel, and Seth and Toni taking up the middle row with strict instructions from their renewed "tour guide" to keep their hands to themselves. Finally, Zack drove his car with his pregnant wife in the passenger seat, AJ squished in as far as possible for Braun in the back, and Dana and Sarah topping off the rest of the available seats.
"Can we just fucking go already?" Charlotte complained, fidgeting with the keyfob in her lanyard.
"Someone's feisty," Dean quipped with a chuckle. "You are more than welcome to walk if you want. We all agreed that I'm the travel master again this year, so..."
"I don't remember voting," Bayley joked, earning a few chuckles from her friends in return.
Charlotte gave Dean the finger before getting into her car. Alexa helped Dean situate himself in the passenger seat so he was comfortable with his knee.
"You'll have to get in first," Zack told his colossal teammate, craning his neck to look the much larger man in the eye.
Braun nodded and hoisted himself into the back row of Zack's Ford. It hadn't gone unnoticed by the entire party that the SUV lost some clearance when Braun settled. Seth opened Toni's door for her, then snuck in a quick kiss before shutting it. Alexa rolled her eyes and slowly shook her head at Seth, who looked back with a furrowed brow and a slight frown.
"Let's get it!" Seth called out as he jumped into his seat.
"No one's allowed to get pregnant in this car..." Alexa warned playfully. "Except for me, of course." She added after catching a skeptical look from her fiance.
"You really are slowly turning into me," Dean said with a slow head shake.
Each driver started pulling onto the main road. With each student ready for a relaxing few days, the short caravan hastily traveled to its long-awaited destination.
