"Is your spouse having an affair? You may be entitled to compensation-"
CLICK
The sobering television commercial was a fine "how do you do?", but Seth Rollins could've sworn he shut the TV off before he left for lunch that morning. No matter, his mind was too fuzzy with guilt, confusion, and anger to ponder on an unimportant topic like whether or not he forgot to shut everything down prior to leaving his apartment.
A heartbeat after the television remote slipped from his fingers and bounced before coming to a rest on the living room sofa, the inviting grip of Seth's loving girlfriend found his fingertips.
"Care to come to bed before practice?" Storm cooed, a soft smirk crossing her lips as her boyfriend turned to face her.
Seth felt his throat tighten. He wished it was some kind of allergic reaction to his lunch that would cause him to drop dead from rapid asphyxiation, leaving him black and blue and suffering for all the bullshit he left in his wake. Alas, he stayed standing, and his mind hadn't cleared in any way.
"Really?" Seth asked, a goofy grin scribbling over his frown.
Toni shrugged. "I'd rather now than wait, yeah?" She said, tracing her fingertips over Seth's arm to his shoulder, then caressing his cheek. Storm lifted herself on her toes and brushed her lips over Seth's then settled back down on the flats of her feet and tugged lightly at his shirt sleeve.
Seth stuck his feet in the mud. "Uh, actually... I'm not really in the mood right now." He admitted, trying to calculate where he was going with this conversation while reading Toni's reaction to his honesty.
Storm raised her eyebrows, understandably surprised since, up until now, if she so much as looked at her boyfriend a certain way they were off to the nearest bed, stall, closet, or wherever they could realistically get each other's rocks off.
"Food not sittin' right?" Toni asked.
"Yeah, kinda," said Seth, his mind picturing every outcome to what he needed to say. In the past, he would've lied and postponed this talk as long as he could so he had more time to think of an escape plan or hope it all got swept under the carpet. Seth recalled the latter working for Dean at the moment, but that would ruin the more morally driven honesty he was trying to adopt. "I need to tell you about something, actually." He continued, keeping his grip firm but light on Toni's fingers.
"Ok," Toni sat on the couch. "What's it about? Somethin' terrible I imagine?" She meant that as a joke, but she quickly stopped chuckling when she saw the serious look in Seth's eyes.
"Uh, Saturday at the cabin," Seth began.
Toni cut in. "We were on the piss, but you wore a jimmy. I made sure, sweet."
Seth shook his head. "No. This was before that. Uh, you know that I was super fucked up that night. Like, I almost didn't make it upstairs."
Toni nodded, smiling to herself at the obscured memory from the previous weekend. "Aye. You was fucked three sheets to the wind. I almost feel bad fer gettin' inta bed with you."
Seth sighed. "Uh, AJ told me that when you left to get a condom, she got into bed with me..."
Toni blinked. "What?"
"...and, I guess, she went down on me while I was apparently thinking it was you." Seth braced himself for a punch or a slap like he had been accustomed to up until this point. But nothing happened. Seth expected the early stages of the apocalypse, but that's not what happened at all. Instead of fury or hatred, Toni seemed confused.
"She sucked you off while I was away?" Toni paraphrased, staring at Seth with a pressed brow. "And you thought it was me? Did you know it wasn't?"
"Right before I was done, yeah," Seth said. "I told her I knew it was her, because I thought I was just having a dream about you. But I can tell it was her."
"When did you have this conversation?" Toni asked. She rolled her eyes. "Fuckin' lunch, yeah? That explains a lot then."
"Look, I'm not gonna expect you to forgive me," Seth explained. "Fuck, if you wanna beat my ass go ahead. I deserve it. I fucked this up so fucking badly."
Toni clicked her tongue. "Oh, not yer ass, mate. That little midget cunt might get a boot in the face before practice though."
Seth furrowed his brow. "Wait, why? I knew it was her. I let her do it."
"You were drunk off yer arse, already thinkin' about me before, then thought it was me the whole time until it was already too late," Toni looked at her boyfriend, a hardened fury behind her brown eyes. "And yer takin' the blame? No, Seth. That's... AJ assaulted you."
Seth shook his head. "Hold on-"
"Am I wrong?" Toni asked. She shook her head, swaying her dirty-blonde hair from shoulder to shoulder. "She got into bed with you knowin' you was with me. She put moves on you, while you was drunk. You thought it was me the whole time, right?" She waited for Seth to respond; He nodded, then Toni continued. "Then you realized what was goin' on after you was already done. Be honest, if you knew right away, would the same thing happen?"
Seth shook his head right away. "No. I'm with you. I don't want her like that anymore."
"Then I say we report her to student affairs," Toni said.
Seth sat up. "I don't think so. I mean, you did more than she did."
"You would report me?" Toni challenged.
Seth chuckled under his breath. "No. I didn't regret getting taken advantage of by you. AJ..."
"Is a predator," Toni concluded. "Sayin' it can't happen to men is a load of bollocks. You were drunk, she's off 'er rocker, someone needs to do something."
Toni was right; Seth knew that much. He could see this incident from both perspectives since he was in AJ's shoes several times in the past. He never thought of AJ as any sort of "predator" or anything because she was a friend and he wanted her to remain that way as long as possible. Seth hated to think that this would destroy his bond with the tiny cheerleader, but the way this road was paved surely meant he couldn't be friends with her in any fashion going forward.
"Let's just leave it be for now," Seth came to the conclusion. "I pretend it didn't happen. You don't kill her because you're getting playing time, and beating up a Senior cheerleader is a good way to get kicked off the team. And maybe we don't hang out with everyone for a while. Maybe just Dean, Lex, and Roman."
Toni sighed, trying to keep her blood from boiling over. She never felt this much rage in her life. Maybe her feelings for Seth were fucking with her better judgment, but she really wanted to hit AJ right now. And then hit her again. And maybe some more if there was some time after.
"Fine," Toni hissed. "But if she looks at you funny..."
"I'll warm up the car so we can skip town after," Seth quipped. A wave of relief rolled over his person when Toni chuckled lightly and shoved his shoulders. "Go on the lamb just like Bonnie and Clyde."
Toni cocked an eyebrow. "Bonnie and Clyde? Friends of yours?"
"No, they were these gangsters back during the Great Depression..." Seth trailed off when he saw his words weren't getting to Toni. "It's a movie on Netflix. We can watch it later."
Seth sat back to reflect on his conversation with Toni, but his mind went back to her as Storm gently turned his head in her direction with her fingertips and sealed the small gap between them with a soft smooch. Toni sat back to let go, then Seth leaned in and slipped the smallest hint of his tongue as a tease.
"Are we ok?" Seth asked, looking his girl in the eye.
Toni nodded. "Yeah. Just a bit hard believin' you thought it was me the whole time."
Seth shrugged. "I fell asleep a little, I think. I remember dreaming about you, then woke up and... ya know."
Toni sighed. "It's gonna be really hard not killin' the little bitch this week."
"I know, but you worked too hard to throw away playing time because AJ is a psycho," Seth said.
Toni agreed with a slight chuckle and a quick kiss. With less time now until practice, and with her desire for sex ruined for the moment, Toni decided to get changed before they needed to head out. Seth let Toni take his room alone to avoid any distractions that might make them late and raise too many questions about what they were doing together.
With Toni getting ready, Seth opened his phone. He scrolled through his texts until he stopped on the name "AJ". Seth chuckled at some of the playfully stupid things they said to each other over the last few weeks. Before he let the nostalgia change his mind, Seth opened his settings and tapped the "block caller" button.
Seth tucked his phone away, sighed heavily, then stood up and joined his girlfriend in his bedroom.
Come Friday morning, Charlotte Flair had finally mustered up the courage to leave her apartment for the first time since being unceremoniously outed during an episode of some shitty "news" TV show. She also found the ability to roll out of bed and shower after some motivational words from her lover that ranged from "I love you" to "Yer gettin' a bit ripe, love."
If it were up to her, Charlotte would've just withdrawn from all of her classes in favor of online courses so she could keep up the hermit lifestyle. "It's so in right now," she told Becky on more than one occasion, referring to her tangled hair and pajamas she hadn't changed since Wednesday, but the fiery redhead wasn't having it. Charlotte showered, put on an outfit suitable for morning volleyball practice, then dragged herself to the gym for whatever the hell was waiting for her there.
The sheer normality of practice caught Charlotte more off guard than if there were torches and pitchforks. She expected at least a few wandering gazes and a dozen or two hushed whispers, but nothing of the sort came. In fact, she was greeted with the same friendly faces as she always was since her beginning tenure at SU. No hazing, no hate on her locker, not even a joke about her appearance on TMZ. It was business as usual, and that scared the hell out of Charlotte more than she let show.
When she appeared online for her risque antics in Cabo San Lucas, there was so much backlash that Charlotte was certain there was no end to it. So to say she was pleasantly surprised when nothing about her relationship with Becky came to be would be an understatement.
Charlotte showered after practice wrapped up. Once again, she expected something to be said to or about her. A bi-curious woman in the girl's locker room? Oh lord, call the presses! Still nothing, however, and Charlotte started wondering if there was anything to be worried about in the first place.
Charlotte dried herself off in front of her locker. With her heightened mood, she texted Becky about meeting at Nitro's for a late breakfast/early lunch. Becky happily agreed and only made Charlotte's day increasingly better with a partially-naked picture and a sultry caption that expressed her love for the blonde athlete.
"What's so funny?" Sasha Banks asked, returning to her locker after her own shower.
"Nothing. Just Becky being a dork," Charlotte said with a bright smile.
Sasha smiled softly to herself. After seeing the clip of that disgusting TV show making its rounds in the SU Twittersphere, she was happy to see Charlotte letting the public outing roll off her back like it was nothing. Sure, she was a tad jealous that it was with the woman who Sasha loved no more than a half year prior, but after the support she received when the hate had been hard on her, Sasha couldn't be mad at Charlotte for any reason.
"Becky? A dork? I don't believe it," Sasha shot back sarcastically.
Charlotte looked over her shoulder to check in case anyone was listening in. "I'm sure you've seen what's going on in my life, right?" She said, looking Sasha over for any sign of negativity.
"The Ferris wheel thing?" Sasha asked. She chuckled when Charlotte nodded her head. "I hope the guy who took the picture gets hoof kicked in the 'D n' B' by a mule. Why?"
"Just surprised no one has said anything to me yet," Charlotte said. "Like, you told the team and someone posted shit on your locker. The whole country knows about me and the most I get is a few mean comments on YouTube."
Sasha shrugged. "Maybe the soccer bitches haven't heard about it yet?"
Charlotte chuckled once. "Yeah. Maybe not."
"It's a good thing, I say," Sasha said, jumping to pull her jeans up. "Live your life. So what if you like both? Who gives a shit what people think? Maybe everyone's too pissed about your dad to give you shit about Becky. No offense."
"Something good came out of Ric's crap? I don't believe it," Charlotte chuckled.
"Maybe. Or maybe it's twenty-eighteen and being bi isn't a crime anymore," Sasha figured. "Maybe society finally got it through their head that people can love who they want and any hate against that is just a waste of energy."
Charlotte smirked. "Do you really think that?"
Sasha shook her head. "Oh god no. I got tagged in a 'Top Ten Hottest Dykes at SU' list on Twitter. I was ranked sixth."
Charlotte chuckled dryly. "I'm jealous. How are things otherwise? I feel like I never see you anymore."
"I've been hanging out with Sigma Nu a lot," Sasha sighed. "I should give Roman a call. He bet beers on the Celtics game last year and he hasn't paid up yet. Plus, I kinda miss Dean's bullshit and whatever the fuck AJ is up to."
Charlotte's brow lifted. "Wow. I never thought I'd hear anyone say that."
"I know. I think something's wrong with me," Sasha wondered.
"You wanna come to breakfast with me and Bex? We were gonna go to Nitro's," Charlotte suggested.
Sasha thought the invitation over, then shrugged and nodded. "Sure. I was supposed to meet Woods at the house, but I'm getting a little sick of the whole 'power of positivity' schpeel he gets into all the time."
"Well, it's on me this time," Charlotte said. "You helped me get through last year with the whole Becky thing. The least I can do is buy you a coffee."
Sasha shook her head. "We're even. Remember last year when you offered to hunt down the bitch who was leaving notes on my locker? You helped me out a lot with that."
"Good. I'm glad I did," Charlotte smiled. "I'm glad we can still get along even though I'm with Becky now."
"Me too. You're both awesome people," Sasha praised. "I'm a stubborn bitch, but I think everyone knows that by now."
Charlotte chuckled to herself. After getting the rest of her clothes on, Charlotte led the way out of the locker room with Sasha close behind her.
For Dean Ambrose, the worst part of his injury finally reared its ugly head. Due to team policy, since he was ordered to be on bed rest to heal his knee, Dean was prohibited from traveling with the team for a few weeks. Once he started physical therapy, which wasn't set to start until the week of the second-to-last game of the regular season, Dean was to stay home despite insisting to Coach Graves that he could travel safely without hurting himself.
Roman and Seth would be gone. Alexa and AJ were leaving too. Zack, Toni, and pretty much anyone else that would keep Dean's sanity intact while he laid like a slug on the couch. But there was Bayley, who didn't want to stray too far from home in the odd chance that the twins decided to make an early appearance. This week, SU was traveling to Provo, UT to challenge the BYU Cougars. The football team was traveling via free airfare paid for by the program and team boosters, which Dean knew would be a great fucking time. But he was alone, without his fiance or his best friends, and only online streaming and Bayley's humming to keep him company.
Dean knew he was going to miss Alexa, but he didn't know how lonely he felt without her at least within the same building. Sure, when she was in class or at P.T. Barnum he wasn't as empty but that was because he knew she'd be back in a few hours. SU's Titans and Titan cheer squad weren't due back until Sunday morning; a whole two days without his fiance.
Maybe it was the good news about his "swimmers" that made Dean want Alexa around him as possible. Dr. Collinsworth, the doctor in charge of fertility at the clinic Dean visited, informed the young couple that the sperm from Dean was some of the strongest he'd ever seen. Now all that was left to do was save up enough money to take a swing at IVF, but when and how was still up for debate between Dean and Alexa.
On top of that, Alexa had to be a little tease that morning before she left. Maybe it was baby fever or something in the water, but the way Alexa had been acting as of late had Dean questioning if his wife-to-be had been swapped out with a sex-crazed alien from Jupiter. The brunette vixen woke Dean up that morning with one of the best blowjobs he'd gotten in his life. Alexa edged him right until it was time for him to finish, then casually went about the rest of her morning routine as if nothing had happened. Dean tried to hobble after his beloved, but his knee started acting up and kept him in bed. Then Bayley showed up before Dean could talk Alexa into finishing what she started.
Alexa had gone radio silent some time ago when she boarded her plane. Dean grew bored out of his mind watching TV and thinking about his fiance to the point that even Bayley was starting to look less like his adoptive little sister (despite her older age) and more like a girl he would've hooked up with after a football game.
The pregnant hugger sat on the love seat in a black sports bra, light blue maternity pants, and her long ebony hair tied up in a messy bun. The fact that Bayley's current snack of choice was whipped cream-covered pickles just made Dean wish Alexa was there even more.
"Hey, Bay?" Dean asked, making the bubbly woman turn her focus to him. "I'm kinda bored. Do you think you can drive me to BPO?"
Bayley nodded. "For sure, sweetie. Let me get my sweatshirt on quick and we can go."
Dean lifted himself onto his feet with Bayley's guidance. Though he was in a bit of pain, he took a few painkillers and chugged a beer to hold himself over for a few hours. Bayley started up Zack's SUV, then made the quick drive over to BPO that otherwise would've been a walk but with Dean's knee it was best they didn't chance it.
BPO was made up of mostly football players. Even still, to see the proud and usually rambunctious fraternity almost dead silent unnerved Dean as if it was the crime scene of a serial killer. There were a few brothers around the house drinking, playing video games, or anything else to do in the house.
Dean hobbled into the kitchen with Bayley in tow close behind. Sitting at the kitchen counter was Axel, who was working on a beer and staring at his phone.
"Ax-man," Ambrose laughed, pumping fists with his BPO brother. "How goes it?"
"It goes," Axel replied. He threw Bayley a quick hello as she sat at the dining room table. "Shouldn't you be on the way to BYU right now?"
Dean rolled his eyes. "Don't remind me. Graves said it was in my 'best interests' to stay home and let my knee heal."
"So, to do that, you come to BPO to drink beer?" Axel quipped with a snicker.
Dean shrugged and cracked open a cold can of dark ale. "It's better than sitting at home and wishing something would happen."
Axel shrugged and agreed with Dean's statement. Dean paused to take a sip of beer. In that moment, Ambrose caught the name "Darren" pop up on Axel's screen. The cheesy smile from Axel that followed should've made Dean roll his eyes so hard that they popped from his skull, but no such thing happened this time.
"How'd that happen?" Dean asked, gesturing at Axel's phone. "Y'all just decided to make a truce between BPO and Sigma Nu or somethin'?"
Axel chuckled once. "No. I don't remember how it happened."
"Dude don't pull that rom-com bullshit on me," Dean groaned, shaking his head lightly.
"No. Seriously. I don't remember how it happened. I woke up next to him after a BPO party," Axel explained, smirking lightly at the surprised look on Dean's face. "He texted me a few days later and asked if I wanted to hang out. Now it's almost been a year. It's pretty cool."
Dean nodded. "It is, man. Good for you guys..." As he trailed off, he caught a glance at the BPO scoreboard; Axel was beating Dean by thirteen points. "On second thought, since apparently you get laid more than me, I hope you both die."
Axel nearly choked on his beer as he burst into laughter. Dean rolled his eyes and shook his head, but he truly didn't feel any malice towards Darren or Axel. Just then, Kevin Owens stepped out of the chapter room.
"Mr. President," Axel and Dean addressed the older boy at the same time.
"The fuck are you doing here, Ambrose?" Kevin said, rummaging through the fridge. "Shouldn't you be on a plane?"
Dean shook his head. "You'd think that, but apparently fuckin' not."
"I said the same thing," Axel chimed in.
"Yeah, but nobody cares what you say," Kevin shot back in good spirit. He set an armful of ingredients on the counter, then started to build what looked to be a sandwich of some kind. "Did any of you pricks come up with a theme for the Halloween party yet?"
Axel shook his head. "Infinity War just came out a few months ago. Maybe we just do superheroes again?"
"No, that's gay. You can't do the same theme twice in a row," Kevin tossed a piece of roast beef into his mouth. "No offense, Ziggy."
Axel shrugged and sipped his beer. "None taken, Pillsbury lookin' mother fucker."
Dean chuckled. "Isn't part of being president your responsibility to come up with this shit? Why have us do it?"
"I would have some shit picked out, but Sami is nailin' some chick from his gender studies class, so now he's never here and he corrects me on my use of 'faggot' and 'shitdick'," Kevin waved his hand again as he ate another piece of deli meat. "No offense, Axel."
"Fucking shit," Axel muttered with a smirk.
"Why not '80s stuff?" Bayley chirped from across the room. "Retro is really in fashion again, so maybe do a horror theme? But old movies."
Kevin nodded. "I'm glad that the pregnant ZBZ girl can come up with shit, but you two assholes can't."
"It is a good idea," Dean agreed. "Figure have people dress up as killers from around that time. Jason Vorhees, Freddy Krueger..."
"Michael Myers," Axel chimed in.
Dean shook his head. "Nah. Halloween came out in '78. Halloween 2 came out in '81, and is usually the fan-favorite Halloween movie right behind the original."
"What are you? A walking Buzzfeed article?" Kevin chastised, then punched Dean in the shoulder and handed him another beer.
"I'm just sayin'," Dean said with a shrug.
All of a sudden, Mr. Boottiesworth hustled into the room. Out of breath and trying to keep his monocle on his face, the BPO butler struggled to say what apparently needed to be said.
"There's... a guy..." Bootiesworth said between gasps for air.
"Fucking spit it out," Kein snapped.
"Laurinaitis... is here..." Bootiesworth finally managed to say.
Kevin threw down the parts of his sandwich that he put together on the counter. "Are you serious?" He asked, peeking around the corner of the doorway to the kitchen into the front foyer. "Fuck! Thanks, Bootiesworth."
Dean looked at Axel, but he just shrugged. Dean followed Kevin into the front room. Standing in the open space, looking around at the home, was a tall man with reddish-brown hair styled smartly in a sharp three-piece suit.
"Good afternoon, sir," Kevin's uncharacteristic friendly manner made Dean's stomach sink. As soon as Laurinaitis made eye contact with Kevin, Dean recalled this man being the head of Student Affairs, a.k.a. the last person BPO needed at their doorstep.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Owens," Laurinaitis spoke in a rough, gravelly voice; Dean figured smoker or some kind of throat condition.
"What can I do for you today?" Kevin asked, holding back anger from the look on his face.
Laurinaitis frowned. "Well, it's been brought to my attention that BPO and a few other fraternity houses were apart of a confrontation between houses a few weeks ago. Do you recall anything of the sort happening?"
"Nope. Can't think of anything like that," Kevin lied through his teeth with the smoothness of someone who'd been doing that for years. "Are you sure it was our house? I told you we'd be on our best behavior this year."
A smirk came over the older man's face. One that told Kevin that he knew he was being a kiss-ass on purpose and he wasn't buying it. Kevin stayed stone-faced and kept to his "goodie-goodie" approach though, and goddamn props to him for keeping his cool.
"Well, I was making my rounds this morning to each Greek home so each of you knew about the new rule I'm putting in place starting this Monday," Laurinaitis reached into his jacket pocket, then handed Kevin a pamphlet. "It's called the 'three strikes' policy. It's a lot like baseball. Each infraction against this set of rules I've put in place will be a strike against the house. Three strikes, you're out! Great idea, don't you think?"
"No parties past midnight on weekdays, no alcohol, no illegal substances of any kind?" Kevin read aloud some of the rules from the pamphlet. "If police are called and any kind of citation is handed out, whether it's against a member of the organization or someone visiting, is an automatic 'strike out'. You can't be serious, sir. The board would never vote for this."
"Oh, they did," Laurinaitis' shit-eating grin somehow grew as he spoke. "A lot of alumni and parents supported the passing of this new policy. After some of the infractions last year regarding a former student trespassing on campus grounds, we feel this will make SU a safer place for everyone."
"I don't think that's necessary, sir," Dean chimed in. "That guy is in jail. He's not coming back any time soon."
Laurinaitis switched his focus to Ambrose. "You must be SU's 'concussion artist,' Dean Ambrose. The nickname is a little problematic, but I do enjoy watching you every Saturday. I truly feel terrible about your injury. Hopefully, you're back by next season. When it comes to the former student, we are putting this policy in place so things like this can't happen. Date rape, assaults, underage drinking numbers will decrease dramatically. No need to thank me all at once now."
Kevin and Dean remained silent. Laurinaitis switched his gaze from each boy a few times, then allowed his smile to fall.
"I don't want to have to come back here," Laurinaitis warned. "You should be more dedicated citizens like Alpha Kappa. That's a house of fine young men."
With that, Laurinaitis bid farewell and left the house. Kevin slowly shut the door, then punched a hole through the drywall.
"Bootiesworth!" Kevin screamed. "Get this wall fixed!"
Dean slowly shook his head. "Do you agree with my plan to burn down AK yet?"
"Every fucking day," Kevin growled, crinkling the pamphlet in his hands.
Nitro's Coffee definitely hit the spot after volleyball practice wrapped up. Sasha rode with Charlotte to the popular coffee house. Becky had previously arrived a few minutes beforehand. Charlotte shocked both Becky and Sasha when she leaned in for a lightning-quick kiss before pulling her loved one in for a hug. Sasha's heart practically melted at the awestruck look on her ex's face. It clearly meant a lot to her, Sasha noted, and apparently made Becky's attitude take a complete one-eighty as she traded in her previous gloomy attitude for a more upbeat, joyous outlook.
"I'm never doing that again, by the way," Charlotte whispered, giggling under her breath.
Becky's cheeky grin never wavered for a moment. She nodded, then sneakily took a half-step closer to Charlotte and leaned against her frame.
"I know," Lynch responded, resting her fiery head of hair on Charlotte's shoulder.
The three girls took their orders before sitting at a high table. Sasha settled for a coffee with extra creamer and a blueberry muffin, while Becky and Charlotte had their usual cups of tea along with a vegan wrap for Lynch and a small salad for Charlotte.
Becky had been on the high of seeing her girlfriend for so long that she almost forgot that the last time she saw Sasha was when the blue-haired girl tried to scream some sense into her about leaving Sonya for Charlotte. Once everyone was settled, it suddenly popped into her head like suddenly remembering the name of a song after pondering the tune all day long.
"I'm sorry," Becky and Sahsa said at the same time. Sasha grinned and gave Becky the go-ahead. Becky nodded and continued her thought. "It jus' occurred to me that t'e last time I saw ya, you was yellin' at me ta leave Sonya. I know it won't cover all t'e damage of t'e t'ings I said, but I am sorry, Sasha."
"Thanks, Bex," Sasha smiled, feeling like the apology came from Becky's heart and wasn't just something she was saying to ease the tension. "I guess I owe you an apology too. Not for yelling at you about Sonya, but the things I said to you before that. It's never ok to use the language I do when I'm angry at you. It's just... so toxic, I guess. I know it doesn't do much, but I just hope we can be friends again. For Charlotte's sake."
The three young women shared a laugh. Charlotte spoke next. "It would make practice a little less stressful."
"If it makes ya feel better, I regret askin' fer a new roommate," Becky snickered.
Sasha rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I kinda hate you for that. They put me in a pod with Asuka and this New Zealand girl who always wants to draw me. I think she has a crush on me, but then her friend Tegan is over all the time and I think they might have a thing. I don't know. Shit's weird, man."
"T'ey haven't given me a new one yet after t'ey kicked out Sonya," Becky said. "T'ink t'ey might next semester."
The girls fell into silence. It wasn't an awkward silence like they were secretly wishing they weren't there. It was a calm silence as they enjoyed each other's company and ate their food.
"So we're all ok then?" Charlotte asked the table.
Sasha and Becky changed a look, then nodded. "I think I've learned that being pissed off about everything is a waste of time," Sasha chuckled.
"Me too," Becky agreed.
"And I freaking love you two together," Sasha admitted. "It was weird to think about at first, but I've never seen Becky smile so big before. Makes me wonder what the hell is wrong with me."
Becky rested her hand over Sasha's. "Nothin's wrong with ya, Sasha. It just didn't work out. T'ere's a big difference."
Sasha nodded. "Thanks, Bex. I appreciate it."
"Don't you have Woods?" Charlotte asked.
"Kinda, I guess," Sasha continued, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know. We hook up sometimes, but then I caught him with a white girl last week. Which is fine, because we aren't exclusive, but I thought we were building up to something."
Becky looked at Charlotte, then back at her ex. "We can go kick his arse," she suggested.
Sasha giggled as she sipped her cup of coffee. "As much as I would appreciate that, I'll pass. I don't need that on my conscious too."
After their lunch, Sasha, Becky, and Charlotte headed back for the parking lot.
"Thanks a lot for this, guys," Sasha said. "I really appreciate getting to sit and-"
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Charlotte took off like a bat out of Hell. The youngest Flair daughter bolted for her SUV, panic, and fury in her eyes. It was then that both Sasha and Becky noticed the black spray-painted words all over Charlotte's white SUV. Charlotte nearly doubled over and threw up her tea reading some of the terrible slurs covering her vehicle.
"Renee?" Sasha asked.
Becky shook her head. "She transferred schools."
"Sonya?" Sasha questioned.
Becky knelt beside her weeping lover. Sasha scanned the area, looking for any sign of the culprit in the immediate area. Becky held Charlotte close, letting her cry into her jacket as her blood slowly began to heat up.
Sasha spoke up. "I know the guy that fixed up Zack's car. I think I can get a deal for some new paint. But we're gonna find who did this, Charlotte."
Charlotte cleared her eyes of tears. She angrily screamed out and slammed her fist against the hood of her car. Of course, at that moment, Charlotte heard a few camera shutters click behind some other parked cars. "Billionaire's Daughter Receives Hate Paint Job," Charlotte could see the headline now. She felt sick and like curling up into a ball and withering away.
"I just wanna go home," Charlotte whimpered, thumbing away more tears as they welled up into her eyes.
Becky said goodbye to Sasha. Before leaving, Sasha assured that she'd get the car fixed up for Charlotte. Becky thanked her ex, then crawled into the passenger's seat of Charlotte's car.
AJ Lee was growing restless. Alexa hadn't gotten off the phone since they arrived at the hotel because apparently, Dean's needs came first before hers. Maybe that's how AJ found herself wandering around the winding halls with her head full of fire. Her conversation with Seth earlier in the week stayed stuck in her head like a bad song. Seth openly admitted to letting AJ finish him off after he realized it wasn't his girlfriend, and the fact that he was getting away with this same tired shit again made AJ's skin crawl.
AJ tried calling Dana for her take on the situation, but a man picked up the phone. AJ chuckled and thought she hit the wrong number. Her stomach sunk a little when she realized it was the right number, but she smiled to herself at the thought of Dana moving past her previous troubles with dating.
The cheerleaders and the football team shared an entire floor to keep the team together. AJ ventured to the soda machine for a cold Pepsi, but her heart still craved revenge. She wasn't sure how she was going to maim Seth without one of the coaches finding out, but that's what her mind was working out at the moment. She hadn't seen much of Toni or Seth that day, but the tips of her ears burned maroon when she did.
Down the hall from AJ, Seth had managed to sneak into Toni's room. It was a huge risk, to say the least, but Rollins knew Zack (his roommate) wouldn't say anything and Toni normally had a room to herself. This time was no different when he lightly knocked on Toni's door and she pulled her lover into the room by the track line of his warm-up jacket.
Seth exhaled sharply, slowing his hip thrusts until he was sure he could roll off with making the least amount of noise as possible. Toni, for her part, kept a pillow over her face for most of their intimate moment. Seth may of well had a death wish against him because if he was caught it would mean the end of football for both himself and Toni. Seth knew he would never forgive himself if he got Toni kicked off the team, but Toni was teasing him with her hands while he had the thought so not a lot stopped him from taking a chance.
"You're the fucking best, babe," Seth whispered, trying to catch his breath.
Toni felt around the bed for Seth, patted his chest, then gave him a thumbs up. Seth almost started laughing but covered his mouth to stifle the noise since Coach Graves and Coach Jones were literally on the other side of the wall.
"How come they don't pair you up with Coach Carr?" Seth asked.
"I'm not into threesomes, mate," Toni shot back, baiting a light laugh from her lover.
Seth shrugged. "I'm glad they don't. I can't go a day without you, baby."
Toni rolled her head to the side, looking her man in the eyes. She rolled hers, then closed one and pecked the boy softly on the lips. Seth quickly redressed himself, kissed Toni goodbye, then checked to make sure the coast was clear before hurrying back to his hotel room and praying to God that no one suspected anything.
Toni took her time getting ready again. She slipped on her underwear and track pants, then laid back on the bed with her jacket zipped open and decided to snap a teasing pic for Seth; her reply came in the form of heart emojis and promises of more fun after the game the next night.
A knock came at Toni's door as she slipped her bra and tank top back on and re-zipped her jacket. Toni hopped to her feet and made her way to the door. She grabbed a bottle of water from the counter and popped open the door.
"Hello, blondie," AJ chirped, pushing her way into Toni's room.
Toni, her mind still partly on Seth, hadn't even processed what was going on until AJ switched off the TV and sat on her bed. When it clicked in her brain that her boyfriend's ex was in her hotel room, Toni's throat tightened as her anger flared.
"What do you want?" Toni asked coldly, standing at the foot of her bed away from AJ.
AJ took a deep breath. "Well, I actually have something to tell you. It's not gonna be easy, but this, unfortunately, isn't the first time I've had to do this."
"I know what you did, you little cunt," Toni hissed.
AJ blinked. "I'm sorry? What was that you called me?"
Toni's stare stayed locked on her target. AJ, her brow raised in surprise, glanced over her shoulder at the younger girl.
"You wanna fucking try that again, sister?" AJ snapped.
"Seth told me what you did," Toni fired back, not holding anything in. "You got into bed with him on Saturday and sucked him off. While he was drunk. When he thought it was me doin' it."
AJ nodded slowly, speaking in a condescending tone. "Yeah, Toni, and he let me. He told me so himself."
"Right. Let's say he shoved you off, would you have stopped? Because that doesn't sound like something you people do," Toni hissed.
AJ flinched. "You people?"
"Predators," Toni specified. "What you did to Seth was predatory, AJ. You raped him."
AJ got to her feet. "Hold the fuck on-"
"Get out," Toni demanded, her tone calm and freezing cold. "Now. God won't stop what I'll do if you don't."
AJ chuckled dryly. "Well, if you wanna talk tough I have no problem knocking fifty shades of shit out of you. You fucking idiot. Seth is lying to you, Toni."
"Leave," Toni repeated.
AJ shook her head. "You really let him get to you. He does this with every girl he gets with, Toni. He lies to them so they'll do whatever he wants. Judging by your messy hair, he was here not too long ago."
Toni nodded and chuckled. "Ok. Let's say you're right and I'm a numpty. Why'd you done it? If you hate Seth and what he does so much, why'd you get into bed with him?"
AJ started to speak but stopped herself. Her mission to destroy Seth didn't make sense, because this whole mess started with AJ wanting Seth more than anything. That's why she got into bed with him and made him miss her. That's why Toni was four seconds from knocking her into the next life.
"Because I want him," AJ muttered.
Toni took a deep breath. "AJ, this is yer last chance-"
"Or what? Huh? You think Seth will still want you after you kick my ass?" AJ shook her head. "Please. You hit me, he'll come running and fucking me before I have a chance to say 'ow'."
"I'll fucking break yer legs," Toni warned.
AJ scoffed. "Please. I've gotten worse threats from Tinder dates. You're nothing to him, and you ain't shit to me either. Tell you what, I'll sift through my iCloud and send you a video of ol' Sethie boy giving it to me. Give you something to watch while you cry yourself to sleep tonight."
Toni took a step towards AJ. AJ balled her fists at her side, ready to swing until the bitter end.
"HEY!"
Both girls looked towards the door. Toni had apparently left it wide open because Coach McCool was standing in the doorway.
"What are you two doing?" McCool demanded to know. "Cheerleaders aren't allowed in player's rooms."
AJ looked at Toni, threw her a dirty look, then flipped the switch and smiled at her coach. "Just asking Toni if she had any extra eyeliner, coach."
Toni looked at AJ, then at Coach McCool. "Right. I don't have any."
Coach McCool nodded. "Ok. Get back to your room, AJ. Please?"
AJ nodded. Her smile faded into a furious frown the moment her coach left. She faced Toni, glaring at her through her eyebrows. AJ smirked, then poked at the inside of her cheek with her tongue. Toni swallowed a scream and charged AJ. AJ giggled and slammed the door a moment before Toni reached her.
AJ, standing out in the hallway, felt her eyes water. There was no going back now. Seth had manipulated Toni, or maybe it was the other way around. Either way, all this effort was for nothing and she didn't win in the end like she felt she should've. There was no chance Seth was going to be with her any time soon, and AJ wasn't sure if she even wanted him anymore.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, AJ re-traced her steps back to her own hotel room.