It was an unhealthy infatuation. That much was easily seen by anybody within a ten mile radius of Dean Ambrose. Every other thought in his head was that pertaining to CJ Jericho. The blonde was just like her father; lively, outspoken, outgoing, and talented. The narcissist named her after him for a reason. She had inherited his bright eyes and smile, too, and Dean loved seeing that smile. Regardless of how fake it was when she flashed it. She wasn't as full of herself as he was, but she had her moments. Even in those moments where the only figure in her world was herself, she was the only thing that mattered in his world.

Nobody understood why Dean Ambrose was so infatuated with CJ. They weren't even sure that they wanted to know what went through his head. Not even his teammates knew what his deal was since he hated people like her. People who acted like they were hot shit just because their father was a big name in the business. Dean didn't even know why he felt the need to be near her, but he always knew where she was. He always knew because he was always right around the corner, just in case she needed protecting. He was always in the hotel room right next door. Just in case.

CJ didn't understand what Dean's deal was. She didn't know how to deal with the dishwater blonde's infatuation. She couldn't fathom why he would be interested in her, of all people. There were plenty of beautiful women around the WWE, do she didn't understand why he chose her. She didn't know what was so special about her to the Shield member that he kept such close tabs on her.

But he saw something in her that nobody else saw. Something that those other women didn't have. He saw the hurt she felt every time she looked at her phone, expecting a message from her father, but had no messages. He saw the way she pretended to be happy when she was talking about her personal life. The self-proclaimed "queen of the world" felt like she was alone in the world. But she didn't know that she wasn't alone. She was never alone. She had her shield nearby at all times.

Dean Ambrose was her shield.

He protected her from dangers that she wouldn't know ever existed in the people they worked with. The Authority, The Wyatts, Randy Orton and Batista. They all wanted something from the blonde. He didn't know what it was, he didn't care. All he knew was that they would hurt her if he wasn't there to keep them off her back. He didn't want her to hurt any more than she already was.

Catering was one of those places where you could stand anywhere and not look stupid, so he liked being in catering. He also liked it when CJ was near the Bella twins and Natalya. They thought that his little infatuation was cute and tried to make CJ feel better about it.

"You look good, Ambrose." Natalya pointed out and he nodded with a smile, his mouth full.

"Oh, thank you." His response was sweet and simple, since he was there for CJ.

"You look great, like, you look like you've leaned out."

"You were totally checking him out, Nattie." Brie teased as Nikki sat down beside CJ, who stood up.

"I've got to go get ready for my match."

"Actually, CJ, can I talk to you in private?" Dean asked in hopes of her saying yes. He didn't know what he was going to say to her if she agreed, but it meant that he was with her.

"Sure. I actually need to ask you a couple things."

"He's totally going to ask you out, CJ." Nikki called and CJ shook her head as she and Dean walked out of catering together. She followed him outside the arena, hating how cold it was.

"CJ, I-"

"Why are you always following me around, Dean? I'm sure you have better things to do than be right around the corner all day, every day."

"CJ, there are things that go on around here that you don't know about. Things that will hurt you. I'm just trying to protect you from those things." Dean tried to explain, but the blonde only looked more confused.

"What?"

"I shouldn't have said anything. Go get ready for your match."

"Dean-"

"CJ. Forget I said anything, and go get ready for your match." There was something in his tone, she wasn't sure if it was fury or desperation, but she nodded and headed back inside. She was confused before, now she was just scared. She looked at every thing and every person she passed, checking for the possibility of an ulterior motive before ducking into the Diva's locker room.

Dean had watched her scurry from the doorway, not entering the building until she was in her locker room. He knew he had scared her and, as much as he hated it, she needed to feel scared. She needed to feel the need for his protection, so that way she wouldn't question why he did what he did. She would probably question how he knew, but he would cross that bridge when he got to it.

"The Liontamer! The Liontamer!" Cole exclaimed and Dean smirked from where he watched the match between AJ and CJ with Seth and Roman. AJ tried getting out of the submission hold, but CJ had that knee in perfect position at the top of the champ's spinal column.

"AJ Lee submits to The Liontamer. We have a new number one contender." JBL said cooly and the two Shield members looked to where Dean was still smirking in appreciation of CJ's in-ring talent.

"She's good." Roman commented and Dean nodded.

"The best this company has to offer." Was all the dishwater blonde said before they all left to head upstairs for their match.

"Why her, Dean?" Seth asked and Dean only shrugged as they walked.

"She's hot."

"That's not-" The large hand on the two toned man's shoulder silenced him as he looked up at Roman. Both men knew that their teammate wouldn't give up the real reason why he was keeping tabs on the blonde, but Seth always pushed for the answer. The two-toned man has his own reason for caring about Dean's infatuation with CJ, and dreaded what could happen to his favorite diva in Dean's hands.