Sorry for the delay in getting new stuff to you all! Hope you enjoy this chapter, suffering from a little writers block at the minute, and a whole host of other things going on. Will try to get you some newer fics too! Enjoy! Zelks xx
Air. Rebel couldn't breathe, she needed air. He had his hands around her throat, and this time, Randy Orton was going to squeeze until she passed out, until he killed her. Arms held her down as she tried to fight back, Orton began to laugh as she saw him fading from view, Rebel swung hard aiming for him...and was catapulted in to consciousness as Dean shook her awake. She put a hand to her throat, gasping for air as she sat up and looked franticly around.
"Nightmare huh?" he asked, sitting back on his own hotel bed. Rebel nodded as she wiped her forehead, and grimaced as she found it was drenched in sweat.
"Orton...he tried to kill me." She said, running a hand through her hair.
"Yeah, we've been through that." Dean said, before getting a full on glare. "Sorry. You had a nightmare he was trying to kill you?" Rebel nodded.
"Last night...he knew exactly what he was doing. He didn't try strangle me, he just held me to the wall by my throat...do you know if the cameras were on?"
"Think he only did that because it was possibly on camera?" Dean asked.
"Yeah. I mean, it would look staged, right? So how can Hunter fine him, or even tell him off, for something that was scripted?" she asked. "The media would go nuts, and then people would think that what we do isn't staged, that some of it is real arguments between people,"
"Which it totally is, but Joe Public doesn't need to know that. But if they got wind of you and Randy hating each other's guts...that's the Mania match everyone would want." Dean said, thoughtfully. He watched as Rebel scowled. "But not the match you want." Rebel shook her head and ran her hands through her hair. "Do you even know who you want?"
"I have a few in mind. Depends who Hunter and Steph like the idea of me going against the most. Think they'd entertain me if I asked for Undertaker?" she replied. Dean looked at her surprised.
"You aren't being serious, are you?" He asked.
"Well, a little. After all, he's still up for grabs at the moment, isn't he? They haven't given him a choice of an opponent yet."
"He'll destroy you, Rebel!" Dean said with half a laugh.
"So you don't think I can?" she said, and Dean noted with alarm the edge to her voice. The edge to her voice that screamed "Tread carefully, think before you speak, you are in shark infested waters and you WILL go down with the ship if you say/do the wrong thing." He took too long to think of an answer, and Rebel flipped back the bedcovers, storming over to her bag and pulling wash things from within.
"You don't do you? You don't think I have a chance against him if I so chose. You're wrong, Ambrose." Dean flinched at the use of his last name. "I won the fucking Rumble. I can do ANYTHING I set my mind to, including taking on The Undertaker." She stormed off angrily in to the bathroom and slammed the door, causing the bedroom door to open moments later, and Roman to put his head round the door. He saw Dean with his head in his hands, pale.
"Everything ok, Dean?" Roman asked, as the other man shook his head. He stood, and came out of the room.
"I know who she's thinking of for Mania."
"Not you, surely?" asked Roman as Dean shut the door. Dean shook his head as Seth joined them, his brow equally puzzled.
"She is very, very seriously considering The Phenom, Roman. She wants Taker, and nothing we say will make a damn bit of difference to what she thinks."
The gym of the hotel was a quiet place, filled with WWE superstars and patrons alike getting in some kind of work out due to the bad weather. In the corner of the gym, mats were set out, enabling those who wanted to wrestle to do so, and here, two people were working, well away from everyone else, but not escaping the rooms attention. Everyone watched as the huge man let the smaller woman spar with him. Though he blocked her moves easily, he knew she was working out anger rather than trying to get a work out.
"Well, we are in a happy mood today, aren't we?" He said with his usual sarcasm.
"I don't seem to get many chances for a happy mood just lately, Kane." She said, more aggressively than she intended, before ducking a swipe with the sparring pads.
"And what's today's reason?" he asked, holding up the pads so she could jab and kick alternately. Rebel said nothing, but after a few jabs and kicks paused.
"Kane, I want to ask you something, and I want you to be honest with me."
"Always, Rebel, you have my word." He replied, and she began to punch and kick anew. But when she spoke, her voice was lower. As if she didn't want to allow the others in the room to hear.
"If I chose Undertaker for my opponent, do you think they would allow it?" she asked.
"Depends." He said as they continued. "You know he gets final say on opponents, right? Always has ever since the Streak began to emerge. Are you considering it?"
"It's one of a few options I'm considering. You included." She replied.
"I'm flattered to be on the same list as him. But, to be frank, it won't be about if they let you. It will be about if he agrees. He's already weary of you, Rebel." Rebel looked up, as Kane nodded.
"Really? Of me? Why?"
"His words, if I'm not wrong, were "If Randy Orton wants rid of her so badly, she must be pretty dangerous in the ring." You see, he believes you can take Orton, hands down. But I guess you're waiting till Fast Lane? To see how the title landscape lies?"
"Well, everyone kinda expects me to chase gold. It's the tradition after all." She replied, stopping and pulling off a glove, so she could grab some water. Kane came and sat next to her, as she sat down on a nearby bench.
"And is it what you want?" he asked. Rebel paused, looking at her feet before she took another drink from the bottle.
"Not really. I didn't want the win, truth be told. I didn't want to be in this position. I just wanted to see how well I could do."
"And because of Rusev, you find yourself top of Randy Orton's hit list. And they won't let you give it away, of course, because it would look awful if they did." Kane said, sympathetically. "I see your position. But challenging Undertaker won't help that. You'll go down as the girl who threw everything away if you do."
"Yeah...yeah I know. I just...everyone thinks I'm a fluke, a one Rumble wonder. That after this, I will just go back to being any other Diva, and they can forget about me." She said, voicing thoughts that had plagued her since the morning.
"Everyone? Or those that really matter? What about Ambrose, does he think that?" Kane asked.
"Dean?" Rebel frowned, caught off guard.
"Yes Dean. I've seen the way you look at him, Rebel. So has Seth, and probably Roman too. You like him. A lot. So his opinion matters."
"Maybe..." Rebel replied, as the three aforementioned men came in to the gym. She looked over, Seth caught her eye and elbowed Dean, who looked over and began to make his way towards her.
"And maybe your opinion matters to him. I'll let you talk," Kane said with a knowing smile, and got up, passing the pads to Dean as he passed.
"My turn, huh?" he asked, before sitting down.
"If you want it." She replied, sipping her water bottle again. Dean pushed one of his curls away from his forehead as the silence between them widened. They watched as Roman and Seth went to work on the weights, both talking about other things.
"Listen, Ambrose..."
"Since when did you call me by my last name?" he asked. Rebel looked over to see the familiar amused gleam in his eye, and shook her head.
"Fine, Dean," she said with heavy sarcasm.
"that's better. You were saying?"
"Look, Dean...I'm sorry for flipping out on you this morning. I didn't need to flip out on you like that, it was uncalled for." She said, staring at her water bottle. A hand came in to view, and rested on her knee.
"I know. You're scared right now, I get it. People are expecting a lot of you. At the moment, everyone thinks you're either gonna go after the gold, or go after Randy Orton. You don't even know yourself who you want to face. You can't pick me, and I wouldn't want you to, the controversy it would cause aside."
"Urgh, don't I know it." She replied, shaking her head. "The media would go nuts, never mind all the fans looking for this kinda thing." Rebel looked at him. "and you don't want to face me yourself?"
"Not gonna lie, everyone would love to headline Mania. But you earned that right. I won't be a worthwhile opponent. And as a third thing, I'm not gonna be the man responsible for crushing your dream, if it were to come to it. Just...promise me something?" he said, and this time he took her hand in his. The gesture wasn't lost on Roman, who got Seth's attention with a jerk of the head. The two men grinned.
"Promise you what?" she asked.
"Promise me you won't take on The Undertaker, or someone similar." He said. "Not because I don't doubt you can manage it, but because I don't want to watch you get hurt like you will if you take him on. If he Tombstoned you...there's no way I could watch that."
"Is this you talking, or Seth and Roman too?" she asked, cheeks a little less red from her workout but more red from having Dean hold her hand.
"No. This is just the lunatic talking."
"Starting to sound like you care a little too much, Dean," she said with a laugh.
"I'm a caring guy, what can I say?" he said with a grin.
"Alright, Dean. You have my word." She said, turning the hand hold in to a hand shake. No Undertaker, Kane, Ryback etc. What about Seth, is he off limits too?" she asked with a smile.
"And there I was thinking you only had eyes for guys with long hair and tattoos," he said, slipping the sparring pads on.
"I make an exception or two. I talk to you, don't I?" she asked, picking up the gloves again.
As a kid, snow days were awesome. As an adult well...Rebel wasn't getting much chance in a snowball fight against Roman and Dean, Seth having been coerced in to it by Rebel as she would have been outnumbered. WWE stars watched from inside the dining room as the four pelted each other with snowballs, shaking their heads and laughing as Seth turned on Rebel and she was bombarded by three sets of snowballs. In the midst of defending herself from the bombardment, her phone began to ring.
"Guys! Time out!" she yelled, and the snowballs ceased, before one final snowball hit her in the face. She looked over at Dean who said nothing but pointed to Roman, the other man stareing back with an incredulous look at his friend. Rebel looked at the caller id, and her heart felt like it stopped.
"Something wrong, Rebel?" Asked Seth.
"I gotta take this...I'll catch up with you in a bit." She replied, before heading inside.
She got back to her hotel room, and waited for the phone to ring again.
"Hey Rebel." It was her friend from the limousine. "How's the throat?"
"How did you know about that?" she asked, brow furrowed as she sat down.
"I've been in this business long enough, Rebel, I know a few people. And I've been keeping an eye as best I can from afar. But if he's going to start that sort of thing, maybe it's time to come on by."
"No, I can handle it. Honestly, I can. If people see you suddenly charging up here, and creating havoc on those that piss me off...it will look like I can't handle my own issues." Rebel said, running a hand through her hair.
"I never said you couldn't handle the guy, Rebel, I'm more concerned about him taking you out in some way. Despite Brock helping you out as much as he can, or that Heyman is willing to allow." Said her friend.
"You know about that too, huh?" Rebel asked. There was the sound of someone sipping a glass at the other end of the phone.
"Yes, I do. And that you were considering Taker for an opponent. You aren't very good at keeping your voice down when you are annoyed." He said, with a chuckle. "Just know I'm watching. If it gets too much, Rebel, tell someone."
"I will."
"Liar."
"I'm not lying," she began but was cut off by a laugh from her friend.
"Rebel Wild, do you really think I believe that? I trained you. I spent three years moulding you in to the wrestler you were before you joined the roster. I've watched the company show you the rest of the way. I'll be damned if I let some punk think he can take the greatest gift of your career away from you." He said. "Now, I have a few things to take care of."
"Will you be there? At Wrestlemania?" She asked.
"You can bet your ass I will. I wouldn't miss it for the world." He replied, before saying his goodbyes. Rebel smiled. At least someone here had her back, although who it was would clearly remain a mystery.