A/N: Sorry for the wait, life is nuts sometimes! Thanks for reading!

Chapter 10 – Car Money

Kaitlyn lounged on AJ's bed, laying on her stomach with her feet swinging in the air. She scrolled endlessly on her phone while she waited for AJ to finish changing.

"Okay," AJ's muffled voice came from the bathroom. She entered the room in a mini pencil skirt and a loose, black blouse covered in white skulls. "This is the other one I was thinking." She spun on bare feet, posing with uncertainty.

"Cute!" Kaitlyn exclaimed.

AJ tilted her head, disappointed. "That's what you said about the last one."

"Duh, you're always cute. Which one is more comfortable?"

"The other one." AJ admitted.

"You know, for Dean, I'm kinda feeling the jeans and plain tank top look. He's already into you, and it's not like you're going any place fancy..."

"He's 'into me', huh?" AJ smirked to herself, grabbing the exact outfit Kaitlyn described.

"He's a guy. He'll notice your butt or your cleavage no matter what you're wearing. And it's Dean, so he'll be giving you those intense eyes all night. He probably won't even look at your clothes. And then, suddenly, you'll be at his house and all of your clothes will be off and you'll think to yourself: 'why did I take so long deciding on an outfit?'..."

"Are you finished?" AJ asked jokingly as she walked back into the room a third time.

"See?" Kaitlyn asked. "You still look hot."

AJ did feel comfortable in her jeans and green tank top, and she knew exactly what Kaitlyn meant about Dean and his intense eyes. She went to her dresser to pick out all the matching bracelets she could find, piling them on in place of her wrist bands.

"Roman keeps texting me..." Kaitlyn confessed out of the blue.

AJ smiled brightly. "What's he saying?"

"Asking me how I am, how's my day...saying I should meet him at the gym tomorrow."

"Are you going to?"

"I miiight..."

"You're over Randy already, huh?"

"Randy is a man-slut! And Roman is new and shiny. If you read the texts, you'll see."

"Let me see." AJ jumped onto the bed next to Kaitlyn, laying on her stomach close enough to see the phone in Kaitlyn's hand. "You are such a flirt." AJ said after seeing all the winks and innuendo.

"So is he!" Kaitlyn exclaimed defensively. "I just want to feel his body next to mine, AJ. Is that so wrong?"

AJ's involuntary snort turned into giggles. "Are you going to hook up with him?"

"I would, at some point, like to feel the touch of a golden god. So, yes."

AJ continued laughing and put her head down on her forearms. Then she turned her head and rested her temple on her forearms instead.

"You can't hook up with him until I've hooked up with Dean."

"Hurry up, then!"

"No. He has to court me for at least three months. And then ask my father's permission."

"Oh god. Just get me a chastity belt." Kaitlyn interrupted their joking with a gasp. "He just said 'you could just come over right now'."

AJ grinned. "What are you typing?"

"I'm telling him he has to wait, I'm helping a friend."

Kaitlyn's phone pinged a second later, and they read it at the same time.

- girl friend or guy friend? -

"I'm totally going over to his place later..." Kaitlyn murmured as she responded with something clever to tease him a little more.

"You're crazy." AJ said, smiling at her best friend.

"Are you going to be a good girl tonight?" Kaitlyn asked with a mischievous grin.

"I don't know," AJ said shyly. "I'll see how the date goes."

"I'm a horrible influence, I know."

"It's a little late to blame yourself," said AJ. "I'm not that fourteen-year-old girl you met in our freshman math class."

"I miss that girl," Kaitlyn replied as she typed another quick response. "She let me cheat off all of her tests."

AJ chuckled and rolled away from Kaitlyn, off of the bed, back toward her dresser. After checking her outfit in the mirror one more time, she looked over her shoulder and saw Kaitlyn grinning at another received message.

"Are you really going to meet up with Roman tonight?" AJ asked her.

"Only if you're okay with it." said Kaitlyn, hugging her phone to her chest. "I don't want to mess anything up."

Kaitlyn would play it any way AJ asked, but her eyes were saying pretty please?

"How can I say no to those pleading eyes?"

"You're the bessst." Kaitlyn turned onto her side and rested her head in one hand. "But now we have to figure out what I'm going to wear."

"Now, Dad," said Dean, as he entered Roddy's small home office. "When I drove that limo that other night, it was with the understanding that, sometime in the future, near or far, I would be able to call upon you for a favor-"

"You want the Mustang?" Roddy interrupted his son, looking over the top of his reading glasses.

Dean pressed his palms together, as if in solemn prayer, and with the utmost seriousness he replied. "I need the Mustang."

"You can have it. Just for the night. You know where the keys are?"

"Oh," Dean patted the side of his jeans, a look of innocence on his face. "They're already in my pocket."

Roddy smirked. "You're pretty damn sure of yourself, aren't you?"

Dean shrugged and smiled insincerely. "I'm my father's son."

"And I'm sure you already knew I'll be out working most of the night?"

"...That had occurred to me, yes."

"You be safe, don't knock her up, and I won't complain, alright?"

"You got it, Pops."

"Is this the brunette I met the other day?"

"Yeah. AJ."

"You ever figure out what AJ stands for?"

"I got April, still working on the second letter."

"That's my boy."

"You're the best, Pops."

"I really am."

"Almost as good as me."

"Ehh, we'll see what you're like in thirty years."

Mick Foley watched his only daughter as she checked herself in the living room mirror for the fifth time in as many minutes. She was holding her hair up again, trying to decide if a ponytail was better. As she was fretting, he wandered over to stand behind her, his arms crossed, amused yet puzzled by this female tradition. He looked into the mirror, at AJ's reflection, to see what on earth she was so anxious about.

"If it helps," said Mick. "Your hair looks good either way."

Elizabeth stood in the kitchen doorway, and she smiled at her husband's attempt at reassurance.

"Sorry, honey." Elizabeth said to Mick. "In situations like these, nothing helps."

AJ smiled wryly at their reflections. "Mom is right." she said. "But," she added, turning to look at her father over her shoulder. "It is nice to hear. Thanks, Dad."

Mick shared a warm smile with his daughter before she turned back and let her hair down over her shoulders. She looked beautiful, but he wasn't sure he liked the reason she was fretting.

"Are we gonna meet this guy before he takes you out?" he asked.

"Dad..." AJ began in a warning tone.

"What's his name again?"

"Dean."

The name didn't ring a bell for Mick. "Were you friends in high school?"

"Not exactly..."

"Not exactly." Mick echoed, disappointed even though he knew better than to expect AJ to share anything more than what was pried from her. "Then how do you know him?"

"We went to the same school, we just didn't hang out back then."

"He wasn't friends with Dolph or Daniel?"

AJ almost laughed at the suggestion. "No." she said, that one word full of meaning that Mick could only guess at.

"Whatever happened to Daniel?" Mick wondered aloud, since he wasn't going to hear any more about Dean today.

If AJ had had more time, she would have reminded her father about what an ass Daniel had been to her when she was fourteen, and how much he'd changed between seventh grade, when he was still her nerdy best friend, and tenth grade, when he'd become a star athlete with the biggest ego in the state. Instead, all AJ could do was look at her mother with pleading eyes.

"Mick," Elizabeth said gently. "I'll remind you about Daniel later."

Outside, an engine revved. AJ glanced out the window to see if the car she heard was Dean. She smiled when she saw him behind the wheel of Roddy's old muscle car. It sounded like a beast.

"He's here, gotta go."

She gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I might go to Kaitlyn's after." she said, in case she decided to spend the night elsewhere. Her parents should have known better by now, but like her job, AJ wasn't ready to discuss that part of her life with them. It didn't help that her mother had been sick during her entire transition into adulthood. She was still their little girl. It was just easier to keep playing the good daughter.

"Bye, mom." AJ gave her mom a kiss too. "Have a good night."

"You have a better one." Elizabeth replied as AJ slipped out the door.

Dean stepped out of the car, thinking he'd have to go to the door and go through her father first, but AJ was already walking through the gate when he closed the driver's side door. The right side of his mouth turned up in a half smile, which made AJ smile involuntarily in return.

"Nice car." she said, teasing him for making such a gesture on their first date.

"Are you impressed?" he asked jokingly, spreading his arms toward one of the two meanings behind his father's old nickname of Hot Rod.

"Very." AJ's smile deepened - she tried not to grin - when Dean opened the passenger side door for her. AJ wondered if her parents were watching from the window; she hoped they'd be impressed too, and not too worried about Dean's leather motorcycle jacket.

Dean closed the door after her and leaned down to look through the open window as AJ got comfortable in the passenger seat.

"Movie or dinner first?" he asked.

"Movie." said AJ. "That way we can talk about it over dinner."

He flashed his innocent look - the one that only made him look more mischievous than anything - and AJ smirked.

"Your wish is my command."

When he got back into the driver's seat, Dean peered through AJ's window at her house, as if he was looking for her parents.

"Should I gun the engine and peel out of here?"

"If you want to give my dad a heart attack and make him worry all night, sure."

Dean looked at AJ, put the car in first gear and hesitated. He pressed the gas lightly, leaving the curb as slowly as possible. AJ giggled and shook her head, waiting for him to pick up speed.

"Oh my god, just go." she said a few seconds later. "They're going to think you're crazy."

"Are they watching?"

"Probably."

"Come on, wave goodbye." he said, trying to see through her window again.

"Dean!"

Dean smiled and sat back, finally accelerating at a normal pace. He drove up the block, and glanced over at her as he stopped at a stop sign.

"You didn't want them to meet me?" he asked.

"For your sake, not today." AJ said confidently. "My dad would interrogate you."

"I appreciate the protection."

AJ chuckled quietly. "I just didn't want the night to start on an awkward note." she explained, glancing his way with a smile.

"Oh, you just want me all to yourself." Dean said suggestively.

"I might..."

"You got me, April." said Dean. "Don't you worry about that."

AJ felt a flutter in her stomach. To quell the feeling before it made her nervous, she decided to mess with him some more.

"Did you ever figure out what my middle name is?"

Dean pressed his lips together so he wouldn't smile, shaking his head in feigned disbelief that she would tease him in such a cruel manner. She wasn't going to let him get away with anything.

"You know I'm never going to tell you, right?" AJ said with a killer smile.

"I'll get it out of you someday. Soon, Foley. Soon."

Dean glanced at her again, so he could catch her defiant smirk.

"So what have you been up to the past few days?" he asked. "Feels like we haven't seen each other in forever."

AJ smiled to herself. "Does it?"

"I got used to seeing you every night. I went through AJ withdrawal."

"Have I enriched your life, Dean?"

"You know I'm just an aimless rebel without you. I just wander the streets with nothing to do."

"I'm so happy I've given you a purpose."

"Otherwise I'd just sit at home, jerking off..."

Dean checked AJ's reaction. She raised her eyebrows, letting him decide on his own whether or not he should have said that part out loud.

"I have this thing," Dean explained. "Where I just...say what's in my head."

"That's fine. I have this thing where I'll totally mess with you about it every time."

"I wasn't apologizing. Just letting you know."

"Mm-hm." AJ replied wryly.

Dean grinned. This girl was going to be his downfall, he was sure of it.

While Dean was driving, AJ noticed how his knuckles were wrapped in white tape again. His right hand also looked bruised. She almost asked about it as they pulled into the parking lot, but the topic changed to what movie she wanted to see.

When they got to the ticket counter, AJ looked up at the list of titles again.

"Are you sure you don't care which one we see?" AJ asked. "What if I said Love's Rose?"

Dean grimaced. "You don't mind walking home, do you?"

AJ laughed. "That's what I thought. Lucky for you I like car chases and explosions."

Dean breathed a sigh of relief. "I was about to ditch you." he warned her. "It was that close."

AJ chuckled again. "I'll pay for mine." she said, when she saw Dean reaching into his pocket.

"Hell no you won't." he said. He made eye contact and smirked softly. This was apparently the only thing he would not leave up to her. AJ smiled back. She happened to glance down then, simply out of nervousness, from fear of prolonged eye contact. Instead of a traditional wallet, she saw a fat roll of twenty-dollar bills in Dean's hand. By the time she saw it, Dean was already handing a couple of bills to the cashier in exchange for two tickets. AJ glanced away. He was already paying for the tickets, she didn't want to get caught staring at his money. It just felt odd, for reasons she couldn't quite pin down yet.

"We've got a few minutes." Dean said. "You want food?"

AJ made a sound of temptation mixed with disappointment.

"Won't that ruin our dinner?" she asked.

"I saw you with that pizza last week." Dean teased. "A bag of popcorn isn't going to ruin anything. I bet you want chocolate too."

"Well, that's a given."

"Alright, let's go." Dean put his arm around AJ's shoulder, guiding her gently toward the snack counter. AJ laughed, feeling truly relaxed and happy for the first time in a while.

The date was off to such a good start. It made it that much more jarring when AJ saw an old friend in the lobby of the theater. An old group of friends, it turned out. Her ex-boyfriend Dolph was standing there with his best friend Cody and the rest of their entourage, including a tiny blonde girl that AJ didn't recognize. The tiny blonde seemed very attached to Dolph; her arms were wrapped completely around Dolph's waist.

AJ's instinct was to avoid the group. She didn't talk to any of them anymore. How much more awkward would it be to see them all again while on her first date with a fellow high school classmate, the one that quit school while they were all taking their AP exams?

Maybe it was better this way, since she wouldn't be alone when she saw Dolph's new girlfriend for the first time. AJ glanced at the group again. The girl looked like she was still in high school. She wouldn't put it past Dolph to date a younger high school girl. Yeah, this was still going to be awkward.

It was too late to escape. AJ was in the middle of the line with Dean, with his arm still slung casually over her shoulders. Dolph caught sight of her across the lobby and gave her a surprised smile and a friendly wave.

"Heads up," AJ said in a sarcastically pained voice. "My ex-boyfriend just saw us."

Dean's first reaction was to glance over AJ's head and smile at their luck. "Seriously? I get to meet an ex already?" he said, as if it were an unexpected prize. He recognized Dolph from school; even with Dean's total detachment from what the cool kids had been doing, it was impossible to miss who had been the star athletes. There they all were, clustered together in the lobby just like they'd clustered in the hallways before class, or in the lunch room before the bell.

When Dean turned, Dolph's expression changed from pleasant surprise to amused confusion, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. AJ with Dean Ambrose? Inconceivable.

In his mind Dean sneered. Yeah, right back at ya. Outwardly he hid his annoyance at Dolph's typical reaction.

"You wanna skip over there hand in hand?" Dean asked AJ. "With a group that big we could get a real good game of ring-around-the-rosy going."

AJ had no doubt that Dean would relish the awkwardness and make it so much worse by being suspiciously, overly friendly to Dolph. And all with that innocent smirk of his. It was as tempting as the popcorn and candy, it really was. But her hangups over Dolph and his friends made her want to keep the two worlds separate.

"I can just get it over with now, if you want to stay in line?" AJ suggested, raising her eyebrows with hope.

Dean was equally tempted by the possibilities. His instincts said Fuck that bleach blonde douche bag jock and his douche bag friends. He remembered just enough about them to know that both parties would rather be dead than hang out with each other. But one look into AJ's hopeful eyes told him she wasn't interested in causing a scene.

"Yeah, okay." Dean agreed, trying to be easy-going. "Just promise me you'll tell him we got married after I knocked you up."

AJ snorted. "Should I assume you don't want any cash for the food?"

"I got it." Dean assured her. "I'll wait for you over here."

AJ crossed to the other side of the lobby, where Dolph was standing with his new girl and a few familiar faces. Dolph had a huge smile on his face. He was genuinely happy to see her.

"What has it been, a year?" Dolph asked as AJ got closer.

"Two, I think." AJ replied.

Dolph's tiny girlfriend looked at AJ curiously. AJ could tell the girl was meek and self-conscious, especially after Dolph gently took her arms from around his waist so he could talk to someone else. AJ found her face looked vaguely familiar, and that she might have been a freshman during her and Dolph's senior year of high school.

"Is that Dean Ambrose?" Dolph asked incredulously, and suddenly AJ remembered why she'd left Dolph behind in the first place.

"Yeah," AJ replied. She glanced over her shoulder at Dean, who happened to be glancing over his shoulder at the same time. He gave her crazy eyes. AJ stifled a smile and turned back to face Dolph. "We've been hanging out."

"Huh..." Dolph said. He stared at the back of Dean's worn motorcycle jacket, trying to reconcile the other man's rebellious image with what he remembered about dating AJ. Dolph had always been sweet to her, but he never seemed to understand where she came from, or why she might not like hanging out with his spoiled, rich friends.

"Well if it isn't little AJ Foley." said Cody, the tone of his voice instantly grating on her nerves. Cody came up beside Dolph's new girlfriend, who seemed equally displeased by Cody's presence there. "You know, I didn't think they made girls smaller than you, AJ. But then Dolph found Alexa here and once again my mind - " Cody paused to make a tiny explosion sound, complete with hand motions - "Was blown."

AJ acknowledged Cody with a tight lipped smile - or was it a grimace? She hoped he couldn't tell the difference - and turned to Alexa. She thought she may as well be nice to the girl, since she knew dealing with Cody's smug, condescending attitude must have been difficult enough already.

"Hi, I'm AJ."

"She was one of Dolph's other girlfriends." Cody cut in, explaining it to Alexa as if he was speaking to a child.

"That was a while ago," AJ said, trying to put Alexa at ease and remind Cody at the same time.

"Aw, it feels like just yesterday." said Cody.

"Do you think about me a lot, Cody?" AJ asked.

"When I see little children scurrying past, mostly." Cody replied, waving his hand over Alexa's head as if he was measuring her height.

"How's your mom doing?" Dolph asked AJ, trying to wrest the conversation out of Cody's hands.

"She's...still fighting." said AJ.

Dolph nodded, his smile faltering for a moment.

Across the lobby, Dean popped a piece of popcorn in his mouth and tried to figure out the dynamic between AJ and her ex. Dean could see the goofy ass grin on the guy's face. He was obviously happy to see AJ, and not shy about showing it even though his new girlfriend was standing right next to him.

"Douche bag." Dean muttered under his breath.

"Do you still hang out with Kaitlyn?" Dolph asked.

"Of course," AJ said, smirking softly. "She's my best friend for life."

"What's she up to tonight?" Cody interrupted again, still in that condescending tone of his. He could make anything sound like an insult.

Fortunately AJ's reflexes were still sharp from all that practice during high school.

"I think she's on a date." AJ said with a shrug.

Cody made a face; it was subtle, and he tried to hide it, but AJ knew him well enough to catch it.

"I'm gonna see if the rest of the guys made it," Cody said to Dolph, suddenly ignoring the girls and abruptly walking away.

"Still the charmer, I see." AJ muttered.

Dolph chuckled, neither agreeing nor defending his best friend. Same as ever.

AJ gestured in the direction of her theater. "Well, I think our movie is about to start, so..."

"Yeah, don't want to keep Dean waiting."

AJ chuckled uncomfortably at Dolph's non-joke. Dolph was obviously bothered by Dean's presence in her life, and he was trying to hide it behind his cool guy exterior. The more AJ thought about it, the more she enjoyed the idea. She wasn't Dolph's good little girl anymore, and she wasn't Cody's punching bag either.

"We should hang out sometime, catch up." Dolph suggested.

"Yeah!" AJ agreed out of habit, though she had no intention of ever hanging out with him again. Alexa looked up at Dolph, then back to AJ, trying to maintain her composure. AJ suddenly had the urge to take Alexa by the hand and take her away, but it would have to be a lesson Alexa learned on her own. Dolph might be sweet to her, he might even truly love her, but he would always choose his guy friends first, and he would never understand why anyone would want to hang out with anyone other than him.

"It was nice to meet you." AJ said to Alexa. The smaller girl blushed and mumbled a similar response.

As AJ walked back toward Dean, she saw a gigantic cup of soda in one of his hands, and a fistful of bags and bars of candy in the other. The tub of popcorn was nestled in the crook of his arm, and he was taking pieces of it with his mouth without using his hands.

"What a heartwarming reunion for the two of you." Dean said as AJ returned. "Is that his little sister?"

"Let's just go see our movie." AJ suggested wryly.

"Yes ma'am." said Dean, placing the popcornless arm back around her shoulders. The candy wrappers crinkled next to her ear, and she smirked.

"Got enough food there?" she teased him.

"Wasn't sure what you wanted, so I got one of each." Dean took another big bite of popcorn and dropped a few packages of candy into her raised hands. He wasn't exaggerating. "You want anything else?"

AJ laughed as she caught the candy raining from beside her head. "No, I'm good."

"You sure? No hot dogs? Nachos?" Dean looked over his shoulder, craning his neck so he could see the menu. "Pretzels?"

"I'm sure. This is perfect."

Dean took a big sip of his soda. They were approaching an older couple who was on their way out of a different theater. The woman gave them an odd look, especially at the piles of candy AJ was stuffing into her purse. Dean stared at the woman and let out a loud belch as they passed by.

AJ didn't hesitate to elbow him.

"Oh fuck." Dean mumbled around another bite of popcorn, as a bunch of it spilled from the tub onto the floor.

AJ laughed at everything he'd just done.

"You make me feel so clumsy." Dean joked, shaking the tub on purpose so that more popcorn would spill on her shoes. AJ squealed and ran ahead of him.

"Hey!" Dean growled with his mouth full of popcorn. His tone was so convincingly menacing that the other movie goers turned to look with concern. "You bring that candy back!" Dean shouted at AJ.

It was one minute to showtime in the darkened theater when AJ realized why Dean's method of payment felt so weird. She'd seen the roll of money, the thick bundle of twenty dollar bills he'd used to pay for the tickets. He'd paid for all that food without really thinking about it, and he'd spilled half the popcorn on the floor just for kicks. She didn't think it was just first date hijinks, or that he was trying to impress her. She'd seen his house, and the business that his father ran. He wasn't a rich kid like Dolph.

"Are you a drug dealer?" AJ asked, right before the lights began to dim.

Dean stopped chewing, his hand halfway into the popcorn. He looked at her and answered as seriously and as simply as she'd asked.

"No." he said. Then, after the rest of the lights went down and the previews had begun, Dean leaned over and whispered. "It's car money."

AJ nodded. She didn't feel good asking about it, but she figured she should get it over with before things got too complicated. She held out her Twizzlers, offering him one so he would know there were no hard feelings. Dean looked inside the wrapper and chose one, looking at AJ while he chomped down on it and snapped it in half. He looked goofy, staring at her and chewing like that. He was trying to make her laugh. It worked.

The movie was starting. Dean didn't have time to explain that little half truth. It was car money. It just wasn't from driving the ones that his father owned.