"We should be getting out of bed now."

"We will later." Arden looked up from Dean's chest where her head was previously resting. "I'm too comfortable right now."

Dean tightened his grip around Arden's body, tugging her closer to him so that her hand, which was propping her head up, was digging subtly into his skin. His action confused Arden, who thought that he'd want to kick her out of the room so he could take a shower. She shrugged the feeling off.

"SmackDown or RAW?"

Dean's face twisted. "What kind of question is that?"

"I need to start narrowing down my choices."

"Unless you're planning on going back down to NXT, you only have two choices. It can't get any narrower."

Arden rolled out of his grasp so that she was on her back next to him. Pulling the sheets up above her body, she crossed her arms. "Maybe I should just go back down. It would be less stress and it's neutral ground."

"Neutral ground? The brands are competing but nothing is like war just yet."

"Not the brands alone, no." She could tell that he was about to inquire further so she stopped him. "I just want to make the best decision for my career. I want to go somewhere I'll be appreciated and my talent will be utilized."

Dean ran a hand down his face and stared up at the ceiling. He didn't know what to tell her. He would love her to join his roster; it would mean frequent booty calls and lengthy stares across hallways. They would be at the same hotels and could coordinate their busy schedules.

What he felt for her was nowhere near love, but he didn't want to lose her. He was fine with things the way they were. At least, the way they were before the draft returned. They used to have sex and dismiss conversations deeper than "how was your day?" and "are you hungry?" and they never grew. The draft had only been in effect for four days and they were already expanding their casual sex into something deeper. He didn't hate it, but he wasn't the biggest fan.

Clearing his throat, Dean shrugged. "Where do you think you'll get used more?"

"In terms of wrestling or otherwise?"

He smirked. "If you came to SmackDown, I can guarantee that you'd enjoy yourself."

Arden sat up and moved so that she was atop of him. "Oh, yeah?"

Dean sat up as well and closed the gap between them by pressing his lips to hers. The move shocked Arden, who was used to the lack of romantic gestures. Casual sex usually came with no romance.

However, she didn't mind. She kissed him back and forgot all about their conversation.


Aside from the red lights, the atmosphere at RAW was the same as SmackDown to Arden. Once she noticed the fact, Arden reprimanded herself for adding that fact to her enumerated list of reasons for choosing the different brands.

Random people introduced themselves to her, but Arden managed to push past them so that she was alone. She didn't mind talking to people. It was just the people she didn't care for that she didn't want anything to do with.

She continued walking until she was at the end of an empty hallway. Unaware of the eyes that were watching her, Arden sat down on the cold floor. She needed to charge her phone, so she did just that and replied to various texts from Lana, Logan, and other people she only associated with for the sake of work. It wasn't until she finished typing out her replies that she could feel the presence of someone else near her, so she shot her eyes up.

"Seth?"

Seth Rollins, with his arrogance and all, stood above her. She hadn't noticed him until he happened to be standing a mere three feet away, so she didn't have anywhere to run and hide.

"What are you doing here?"

She rolled her eyes at his question and dropped her phone down into her lap. "Why does it matter to you?"

"See - that makes me think that you're here to see me."

"Why the fuck would I come all the way here just to see you? I can turn my TV to RAW and ignore you for free."

Seth smirked, confusing Arden. "I've always admired that sarcastic attitude of yours. It reminds me of simpler times."

"You mean back when you cheated on your fiancée with me?"

"That's the one," he stated simply. Ignoring her obvious discomfort, he continued. "You know, I'm not engaged to anybody anymore. That makes whatever is bound to happen between us totally innocent."

Arden, in light of the obvious tension, scoffed. "The only thing bound to happen between us is my knee between your legs, Rollins." She couldn't care less about her phone needed to be charged at that point, so she tugged the cord out of the wall and stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I don't want anything to do with you."

Seth stopped the brown-haired woman from going anywhere by gripping onto her wrist. "C'mon, Lights. You know that you want me."

"Want you?" Another scoff. "More like, I want to kick you in the throat."

The man shook his head and pulled her so that she was facing him and they were only inches apart. "Don't you remember how much fun we had? Don't you want to relive that?"

"Why would I want to relive the time where you told everybody that we slept together after your engagement had already ended? Nobody had to know anything that happened between us but you couldn't handle that you were the only one being punished for your actions. Now people see me and think that I'm just a home wrecking whore. Does that sound like something I'd like to relive?"

Before Seth could respond, a third voice came from behind them. "Is there a problem here?"

The voice was familiar enough to take Arden's eyes off of Seth's face. She wasn't expecting to hear that thick Irish accent so soon into the night, but now that it was lingering in the air, she didn't know how to react.

Seth, who was in the midst of an already heated rivalry with Finn, released Arden from his grasp. "Why don't you go worry about figuring out how to beat me?"

"Is that the best you've got, lad?" Finn chuckled and shook his head. When Arden finally turned around and their eyes met, Finn's smirk faded away and his eyes displayed nothing but motiveless concern. "Are you okay?"

All she could do was nod and mutter a simple 'yes'.

Seth took a cautionary step away from Arden and held his hands up. "Before this goes where it shouldn't, I'm going to walk away." He flashed Arden a quick smirk out of Finn's sight, which he hoped would sting. It did, but she said nothing of it.

Finn waited for Seth to leave the hallway before he turned back to Arden. "Are you sure you're alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Arden relaxed enough to move her jaw and make out some words. "I'm fine, really. He was just being a dick."

"I figured as much. I just don't like seeing pretty girls get worked up over guys like that."

She couldn't hide her small smile, but she didn't emphasize her joy in seeing him. "Thanks," she managed to say.

"No need to thank me for honesty." He smiled back at her before stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Why do you keep popping up on RAW? Don't you have an injury to heal or something of the sorts?"

Arden held up her wrist, showing the bare skin. "No cast, no injury."

"I don't think your doctors would agree with that one."

"I'm not wrestling on it, so they don't have to agree with anything." She shrugged. "As for why I'm here... I guess I'm looking for reasons to sign a contract here."

Finn nodded. "I've heard Daniel and Shane are working out a new women's championship for the blue roster. Are you sure that you don't want to sign with them?"

She looked up at his eyes. How did they get so bright? She'd seen a few of his matches from various independent circuits, so she knew he wasn't always as innocent as he appeared before her, but he could've fooled her easily. His sugary smile. His elegantly combed hair. Those damning eyes. Everything about him screamed sweet and pure. If only someone could say the same about her.

"I'm not so sure of who I want to sign with," she admitted. She'd had that same conversation with a dozen people, but hearing Finn discuss it with her made the topic sound fresh. "I'll figure it out. I'm not so sure I'd be welcomed with open arms by either roster, all things considered."

Aware of her reputation, Finn could only nod. He didn't really care about the gossip regardless of any truth behind it, but he did know that he didn't need to know the truth to have an opinion about Arden. She was kindhearted from everything he'd seen, which was all the proof he needed to know that she wasn't a bad person.

"If we're being honest," Finn began, "I would welcome you with open arms."

Arden bit back a smile. "I'm sure you would."

"I also think you would give Charlotte and Sasha a run for their money."

"Well, since we're being honest, I think that you'd make one hell of a champ." In all honesty, Arden didn't really care who the first Universal Champion was as long as it wasn't Seth. He didn't need to be walking around with proof of how good he was when he never shuts up about it.

Her compliment brought a warmth to Finn's chest. "I'm glad you think that. I might have to beat Rollins a little harder, just for you."

"Sounds like a plan."

"It does," he returned.

Arden wrapped her charging cord around her phone and tugged a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, I know that you must have a busy night ahead of you."

"Eh, just going to beat up Seth Rollins probably."

"For what just happened?" Panic flashed through her eyes. "Please, don't do that for me. I don't need anybody to fight my battles for me."

Finn chuckled. "Sweetheart, I was already going to beat his egotistical ass up tonight. You just gave me a little more motivation." He shot her a sly wink before walking off without letting Arden argue.


Arden watched Seth deliver a speech with her hands over her eyes. She knew that Finn was going to jump out from behind a fan or slide out from under the ring at any moment, and the idea that he was doing it in her honor was terrifying for some reason.

She didn't want to feel responsible for anybody's beating. Despite Seth's distasteful personality, she still didn't want to.

To her surprise, Finn didn't jump out from anywhere. He simply walked down to the ring like a gentleman with a microphone in his hand. Seth was still shocked to see him, but it wasn't anything unusual.

Seth wasn't shy in showing his anger towards the Irish wrestler, though. "What the hell are you doing in my ring? Nobody summoned you. Why don't you just go on backstage and worry about learning how to speak proper English?"

His comments caused both Arden and Finn's eyes to roll. He wasn't that stupid, right?"

"Actually, I speak English just fine." Finn allowed the crowd to settle before saying anything else. "In fact, I speak English well enough to say a lot of things that nobody backstage would have the guts to say to you."

"Like what, exactly?"

Finn didn't bother hesitating. "Like how you don't deserve the Universal Championship as much as you think you do."

Arden shrugged from her seat backstage. It was the truth.

Seth, on the other hand, wasn't amused. "You think you're so special since you were in the top five picks for the RAW draft, don't you?" The crowd roared at his words. It was obvious that everybody loved Finn Bálor. "Well, newsflash - you aren't! I was the number one pick. That proves that the company thinks I'm more than deserving of my Universal Championship."

"Deserving..." Finn nodded and backed up. "That's a funny word, ain't it?"

Arden, who had no idea where this was headed, furrowed her eyebrows. She didn't realize that her palms were sweating, but they were.

"For someone who doesn't treat people the way they deserve to be treated, you talk a lot of crap, Rollins."

Seth pursed his lips. "I don't have a clue as to what you're referring to."

"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. I mean, the entire world was watching when your private photos circulated the internet. Then, once your fiancée left you, you decided to turn the page by blaming someone else for your mistakes."

Arden's entire body tensed up. He wouldn't...

"I'm going to stop you right there, Bálor-"

"Why? Because you know that I'm right?"

"Because you're out of line!"

Finn scoffed. "That's golden, coming from you. Don't you think that's what Arden said when you blasted her name all over the 'net?"

The entire crowd, once they popped, grew silent. Arden couldn't move. She didn't know how to function. He did exactly what he said he wouldn't. Now she was in the middle of it all.

Seth didn't know what to say either. He had already been reprimanded for his actions by Stephanie and her husband, so he knew that pushing Finn over the edge with a rebuttal would be bad news for his career. He cleared his throat and raked a hand through his wet hair, but took too long to respond.

"At SummerSlam," Finn began, "I'm not only going to become the first ever Universal Champion, but I'm going to put you in your place. And, I'm going to do it for everyone you've ever walked over to get to where you are today."

Arden tuned out. She couldn't hear it anymore.

Looks like you don't have a choice, Arden. Welcome to RAW.


a/n: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what your thoughts were!

With love. :)