Chapter Three

Royal Rumble
Locker Room

As soon as Flora entered the locker room, silence welcomed her. The room was full of female talent, who had all witnessed her attack on AJ Lee less than half an hour before. All conversations between the women had ceased almost immediately upon her entering the locker room, and she was pretty sure that she would be able to hear a pin drop in the distance if she strained her ears enough. She moved towards her locker, her eyes dancing across the other Diva's who were watching her, and she smirked at the attention she was receiving. She dropped her gaze from them and opened her locker with a sigh.

"Maybe take a photograph, it will last longer," Flora said, bitterly. She brought out her backpack, and moved towards the bench which ran along the middle of the room.

"And maybe you need to be knocked off that high horse of yours," AJ Lee responded. She moved towards her, watching as Flora continued to sort through her backpack with a smirk. "You know, I don't like people like you. You had no right to do that to me. You had no right to spear me. That wasn't planned, that wasn't supposed to happen."

Flora nodded, standing to her full height. "As Stephanie said, they changed the storyline at the last minute. That was out of my control, I wasn't the one who made that happen. The bosses did that. But I have a right to be here just like you, and all of you," she glanced at the faces of the other Diva's. "But I didn't make you lose your title, like I said in the office. I wasn't the one who pinned you."

AJ Lee huffed, and turned towards Nikki who was holding the championship. She addressed Nikki. "That belt belongs to me, and I will get it back. Enjoy it whilst it lasts because it isn't going to be yours for much longer."

"Oh yeah?" Nikki said, moving forwards. "Well guess what? You were pinned, and I beat you. And I still would've beat you even if she didn't come out and spear you."

"Ladies, can we all please just calm down?" Natalya stepped forward. "We know that you're mad, AJ, but there's not much we can do now. You'll get your rematch tomorrow night on Raw. Just focus on that."

AJ Lee shook her head and moved closer to Flora. "If I see you out there tomorrow night and you're in my way, you'll wish that you were never born. Got that?"

Flora chuckled lightly. "Ooh, I'm scared."

"You should be." And with that, AJ Lee moved back towards her locker, picked up her bag and walked out of the locker room without another glance.

As AJ left, the rest of the Diva's continued what they were doing. Everything had returned to normal apart from the conversations which hadn't been picked back up, and they all worked in silence. Nikki and Brie were the next to leave, then Paige, Tamina and Cameron. Flora quickly changed, grateful that there wasn't much of an audience. She looked up to see Natalya and Naomi who were stood talking. Their conversation was muffled, and no matter how much she strained her ears to try and hear what it was about, she was unable to hear them. She slipped on an oversized jumper, and quickly put a plait in her long hair.

"Hey." A voice rang out causing Flora to glance up. Natalya and Naomi were stood in front of her, holding their bags.

"Oh," Flora coughed. "Hi."

"I'm Natalya," Natalya said, stepping forward and extending her hand. Flora shook her hand.

"I'm Naomi," the other woman said, giving Flora a small wave.

"The locker room can be a bitchy place," Natalya said, smirking. "I wouldn't worry too much about it, okay? AJ's just mad that someone took her out. I thought it was awesome!"

Flora smirked. "Thanks."

"Do you have plans after the show?" Natalya asked. Flora thought for a moment. She never had plans. Her whole life now was traveling, wrestling and training. She would be asked to do things after shows like hang out or go to a bar, especially when she was on NXT, but she was so focused on being one hundred percent for a match that she missed out on plans that the other wrestlers had made. They would always ask her and she would always either decline the offer or cancel, until it got to the point where they stopped asking her altogether. She understood their reasons, but she also understood hers. She was at the bottom of the ladder, she still had to prove herself, and she had given up so much to be there that she didn't want to do anything or be seen doing things that could potentially harm her career. She put so much on the line and had taken risks, turned people away from her for a dream that had always been in her heart, a dream that she never gave up and would never give up.

"I don't, no," Flora said, honestly.

Natalya and Naomi nodded and smiled.

"We're all going out after the show. It's a tradition that we have within the company, and you're part of the team now so it would be nice if you could join us," Naomi said.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Flora said. "Thanks."

"But…"

Flora waited and watched as the two women glanced at each other and then back at her. She followed their line of sight and she glanced down at her own clothing. She was wearing black jeans, a simple white tee and her oversized jumper. She glanced back up and noticed their own attire; glamorous dresses adorned their bodies. She scrunched her nose up.

"What's that face for?" Natalya asked, laughing.

"I don't do dresses," Flora said. "I don't do glitzy things."

"Heels?" Naomi asked.

"Absolutely not!" Flora said, causing the two women to giggle.

"Well, we have dresses and heels that you can borrow!" Naomi said, excitedly.

"No, no and no!" Flora said, a smile forming on her mouth.

Natalya's phone buzzed. She glanced at it, and smiled as the screen lit her face up.

"The match is starting in a minute," Natalya said. "We better make our way down."

"Are you coming to watch with us?" Naomi asked, to which Flora nodded. They left the locker room, taking their belongings with them, and made their way towards the television screens all aligned along the wall. Various Superstars and Diva's were already sat and watching. Flora knew that the amount of people within the room would dwindle down as they went out and wrestled under their designated number.

The bell rang out signifying the start of the match. CM Punk and Seth Rollins began to battle it out, and the match was underway. Flora watched as the two men used the ring to their advantage, kicking and using submission holds to weaken each other. As Flora stared at the TV screens, Flora was aware that someone had come to stand close to her side. A musky aftershave filled her senses and she allowed the scent to wash over her. It was a pleasant scent, not too offending on the senses.

She quickly stole a glance to her right and saw that Dean had come to stand next to her. He noticed her change of sight and glanced down at her, noticing the significant height difference, and their eyes met. A smirk etched across his face allowing his dimple to make an appearance. He narrowed his eyes slightly when she kept her gaze on him, as if she was trying to analyse him. Usually the majority of the people he worked with kept their eyes directed to the ground whenever he or the Shield were about, knowing that the best thing for them to do was to not draw attention or challenge them. He didn't like it when people looked at him, the attention being almost too much for him to handle and he had his reasons for that.

He kept his stare on her knowing that he wasn't going to be the first to break it. He watched as she took a breath, and turned away, her gaze traveling back towards the screen. He stole a moment to glance her over, and smirked. He quickly glanced at the women she was stood with, and found that she was the odd one out, preferring casual clothes to their glamorous dresses.

The number of wrestlers watching began to dwindle down as they made their way out to the ring to join the battle, and it was nearly time for him to leave and head to the ring. A tap on the shoulder alerted him that he was next out, and he walked off.

Flora glanced at the space next to her that Dean had occupied, and took a deep breath. She found herself being glued to the screen, watching as Dean walked down the ramp and towards the ring, immediately getting stuck in and fighting anyone who challenged him. The match intensified as before she realised, the entire backstage area had dwindled down to just a handful of wrestlers who were not participating in the yearly rumble, as well as the other Diva's. Superstars were thrown out of the ring in quick succession leaving enough in the ring so that it was crowded and everyone had someone to wrestle with. She caught herself looking for Dean, and she couldn't explain it. He was the type of wrestler that she had grown up watching, he was old school and that intrigued her.

"Come on TJ," Natalya said beside her. "Fight him."

Flora watched as TJ fought against Dean as the latter was forcing Natalya's boyfriend out of the ring. Natalya gasped as TJ plummeted to the floor. Dean smirked at the fallen wrestler and moved onto his next victim.

Natalya glanced at Flora and sighed. "Let's go. I need a drink!"

Flora smirked and followed behind Natalya and Naomi as they led the way.

They quickly left the arena, with Natalya reassuring them that TJ would probably want to be alone after being kicked out of the ring by Dean Ambrose. They made their way to the hotel, all of them going to their respectful rooms to drop off their belongings. Flora waited outside her room for the two women, as it had been proposed as the place for them all to meet up again as it was closer to the elevator.

Natalya and Naomi soon joined her and they smiled once more.

"Have you got anything else to wear?" Natalya asked.

"Um… nothing like what you're wearing," Flora explained.

"Would you?"

"I don't know," Flora said. "I don't really dress up."

"A girl has to dress up sometimes!" Naomi giggled. "Come on, show us what you've got!"

Flora entered her hotel room followed by Natalya and Naomi. The room was small, with a double bed in the centre of the room and a TV attached to the wall. Flora opened up her suitcase and the two women peeked into it. A collection of black jeans, leggings, t shirts and hoodies welcomed them and they bit their lips.

"Okay… I can tell we're in need of a shopping trip pretty soon!" Natalya smiled. "What size shoe are you?"

"A four," Flora said, then remembering the conversion said. "A six point five."

"Ahh, my size!" Natalya exclaimed! "Okay… shoes, done. Are you comfortable with wearing a dress?"

"Um…"

"That's a no. What about a sparkly top? You can't go wrong with a bit sparkle and jeans."

Flora nodded, and the three of them made their way to Natalya's room. Quickly changing into a pair of silver heels and silver sparkly top, they were ready to go. They quickly made their way to a nearby nightclub where the party was happening, and as they entered the nightclub, Flora saw many faces that she had seen at the arena.

They made their way to the bar, and ordered their drinks. The girls excused themselves for a moment, promising to come back and hang out. Flora remained by the bar, drink in hand. She stared at the people all milling around her, and felt alone. She wasn't used to being out and socialising, albeit not the socialising that she had imagined. She watched Natalya hug her boyfriend and Flora smiled. She took a sip of her drink and turned back towards the bar. She sat on one of the chairs for a while, and ordered another drink when she had finished her first.

"I'll get that," a husky voice came from behind her. "And a beer for me."

Flora turned to see who the voice belonged to and raised an eyebrow as Dean came to sit on the seat next to her. The bartender placed the drinks down in front of them and moved onto a next customer.

"I was a little disappointed that you weren't there to congratulate me," Dean said, taking a sip of his beer.

"You won?" Flora asked.

"Well, no," Dean said, smirking at Flora's expression. "I was sixth."

Flora raised her eyebrows and bit her lip in amusement. "Well congratulations on being the sixth runner up. Who won?"

"Batista," Dean said bitterly.

"Not a fan?"

"Not in the least bit," Dean replied. "So, you've been dragged out here then?"

"How can you tell?" Flora asked, smirking.

"You're alone in a packed bar."

Flora nodded, solemnly. She quickly glanced around at the nightclub, noticing that everyone was together, talking and laughing. They all seemed pretty close, but Flora knew that the majority of them probably hated each others guts. It was a cut throat business. Backstabber's were everywhere, and she knew that.

"Well, not any more," Flora said, taking a sip of her drink. She hardly drank and she had to admit that it felt good to feel slightly light headed and intoxicated.

Dean chuckled, and took another swig of his beer. "Do you want to join us?"

Dean tipped his head towards the corner of the nightclub where, at a circular table, sat the other two members of the Shield.

"It's fine," Flora said. "I… uh… have to go anyway."

"Boyfriend?" Dean asked, his eyes narrowing. He licked his lip as he watched her shake her head.

"Nothing like that," Flora said.

"Good," Dean said, huskily. "I don't like competition."

Flora blushed slightly, and was grateful that the nightclub was dark so that he couldn't see her flush of her skin. "Well," Flora cleared her throat. "Thank you for the drink," she said, sliding off the bar seat. "And well done, again, on coming sixth."

Dean tipped his head almost in gratitude. "Let me walk you out."

"I'm good," Flora said. "Thanks, anyway. Enjoy your night, Dean."

"You too, Flora."

Flora gave one last glance towards Dean who smirked back at her before leaving, her feet carrying her out of the nightclub. As she slipped into the darkness of the night, she found that the two drinks had gone straight to her head. She hailed a taxi, and watched as it pulled up to her. She got in and gave the driver the address to the hotel, and stared out of the window as the journey back to the hotel began. Before she knew it, she was back at the hotel, and after paying the driver, she made her way back to her room.

As she settled down to sleep, she couldn't help but replay what Dean had said to her before she had left.

'Good, I don't like competition.'

A/N: Thank you for the wonderful response so far for this story. I hoped you enjoyed this super long chapter! All reviews are welcome, they inspire me to write and upload faster!