Author's Note: Thanks to everyone for all of their sweet reviews and for taking the time to read this. I'm in such a good mood today that I thought I'd give you guys a third shot. I'll try to update again tomorrow if I don't get called into work.

Serena sat in an empty skybox and rested her head against the wall. Her sobs were heavy, choking her and making her cough. Her eyeliner and mascara was running, but she didn't care. She wept openly, holding herself, her body rocking. She looked down at her ripped and tattered red turtleneck that exposed patches of her green bra and part of the scar across her stomach. There were scratches on her wrist from where Alicia and Rosa had shoved her around. She rubbed the red marks on her wrist and continued to cry.

They had caught up with her after dinner. Rosa had a plastic knife and they were acting out a scene from a horror movie. It had bothered Serena, but she tried to ignore it and go back to Dr. Rios' office. Alicia and Brie Bella had been screaming, their screams so bloodcurdling that it took Serena back to the darkest days of her life. She continued to walk but they had stopped her. Rosa started poking her with the knife. Serena refused to cry in front of them. She promised herself she would never give them the satisfaction of seeing her crumble, the way that she had when Alicia had tripped her in the cafeteria.

Nikki Bella pushed her. She tried to leave, but they grabbed her. She felt her turtleneck stretching and tearing as they pulled her in all different directions. Rosa continued to pantomime stabbing Serena with the prop knife, leading the three of them to sing the Psycho theme at the top of their lungs. Frustrated, Serena flailed and hit Alicia in the face. The girls made a sound and let her go, and Serena half-ran, half-scrambled away, desperate to put as much space between herself and her bullies as humanly possible. Their voices taunted her as she ran, calling her a baby and a pussy. Serena burst through the doors that led to the main area of the arena. From there, afraid they were following her she went up the stairs, running until she found the first empty room. Once the door was closed, she collapsed to the floor and began to cry.

She wanted to quit. Serena wanted to run and spend the rest of her life in hiding. The more she tried to stop the tears from flowing, the more they came out. She put her hand on her head and tried to steady her breathing. Serena couldn't understand how people could be so cruel to one another. She wasn't looking for sympathy; she didn't want it. But she didn't want to be an object of ridicule and mockery, either.

Serena tried to steady her breathing. She hardly even knew the four girls involved; she didn't think they had any reason for them to hate her, as she had no reason to dislike them. She slammed her fist on the ground and sighed. She was angry. She wanted to fight. Serena felt like a victim, something she vowed to herself she would never feel again. The feeling of helplessness that weighed down her soul was familiar. She hated it.

"Serena!"

She stopped. Her chest heaved and she felt nauseous. It was a male voice, definitely not the bullies. She didn't have the energy to answer, but she crossed her arms over her chest to hide what she could when the door opened. People were looking for her. If she weren't so depressed, she would have been touched by the gesture. She took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, allowing herself to think the dark thoughts she fought day in and day out.

The door swung open. It was Wade and AJ. "Sweet Jesus," Wade murmured.

"Oh, my God," AJ cupped a hand over her mouth and rushed to Serena. She wanted to touch Serena, to give her a hug, but she was afraid to, her hands just motioning and retracting as if she were going to do something. She ran her hand through her long brown hair. "Oh, my God, Serena, I'm so sorry."

"Dean and Roman found me. They told me everything. Dean found Rosa and Alicia laughing about it in the hallway with the Bella twins," Wade told her. AJ nodded. "Good God, Serena."

She opened her mouth to speak, but just began to cry. Out of instinct, Wade pulled her into his arms and hugged her. AJ hugged her as well. The three of them were huddled on the ground as Serena wept. AJ looked up at Wade, shaking her head in disgust at the other girls. Wade nodded.

"Everyone's looking for you, love. Everyone's worried about you," Wade told her softly. He stroked her hair soothingly. "Damien, Cody, Dean, Roman, Seth, Randy, Kofi." She sniffled. "I'm so sorry about those birds, love. You don't deserve this."

"I'm going to get her a new shirt," AJ told him softly. "I'll let everyone know she's been found." Wade nodded. She got up and left, not before shooting a sad smile at Serena, who was still cradled in Wade's arms, crying. "Dr. Rios says take as much time as you need, Serena. Stephanie and Vince are dealing with the girls." Serena didn't look up, just keeping her head buried in Wade's chest. AJ left.

She pulled back and rested back against the wall. Wade sat down beside her and just watched her. She rubbed her eyes, staining her skin black with liner and mascara, but she didn't care. She just stared out at the empty stands. Wade didn't say anything and he didn't plan to until she talked first. He looked down at his hands.

"Why do they hate me?" she asked. "What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything, love," he assured her.

AJ returned, with Damien, Cody, Dean, Seth and Roman in tow. Dean was on Serena in seconds, touching her hair, touching her face, looking her over for bruises or marks. "Serena, you scared the shit out of me," Dean told her. "I could…" He wanted to say he could kill them, but he knew better. He clamped his mouth shut. "I despise them so much for doing this to you, Serena."

She looked up at Dean and offered him a broken smile. AJ handed her the spare T-shirt. "I made sure it's a turtleneck," AJ offered. Serena couldn't help it; she started laughing. AJ flashed Serena a grin and started laughing as well.

"Thank you, AJ. I think I needed that."

"I think you did, too," she told her. She went over to Dean and sat down beside him, in front of Serena. "Are you going to be okay?" Serena nodded.

"I've survived worse than this, haven't I?" she told AJ. She nodded sympathetically.

"I have an idea – why don't you come back to the hotel with me after the show tonight and we'll have a girl's night. Kaitlyn is coming, too. I don't think you've met her yet." Serena shook her head. "She's fantastic. Come on. What do you say? You could probably use a night of ice cream and anime."

"I probably could," Serena agreed. Tears began to stream from her eyes again. She looked at everybody. "I don't know what I would do without you guys. I'm serious." Serena was embarrassed to tell them that she had never had friends like them before, friends that cared for her and worried about her and were willing to lend her an ear when she was ready to talk.

"You're part of our family, Serena," Damien informed her. Everybody nodded.

"You know the three of us have your back," Dean told her. Seth and Roman nodded. "Forget those women, Serena. Their jealousy makes them ugly."

"There's nothing to be jealous of," Serena told him with a laugh.

"Bullshit," Wade and Dean said in unison. It caught everybody immediately. AJ looked over at Dean, cocking an eyebrow. Wade nodded, as if he had his suspicions confirmed. Serena was still too upset to notice anything but the bruising and the scratches.

"The guys are right," AJ told her cheerfully. "They have every reason to be jealous of you. You are tougher than any of us. Don't shake your head, because you are. You just don't see it because I know you're still suffering. But you are made of Teflon. It just rolls off you. Are we clear?"

"I think I hit one of them in the face."

"I hope you hit her good," Damien cracked. Serena started laughing, covering her face with her hands. Everyone laughed along. Damien shook his head. "This is unacceptable. We cannot let this sort of treatment stand. I would like to think this locker room is more civilized than to go around bullying the backstage personnel."

"You couldn't be more right about that, Damien," Dean agreed.

"You know, the irony that Alicia is so involved with the Be-A-Star campaign isn't lost on me," Serena piped up. Everyone started laughing. Wade rested his head against the wall as he chuckled softly.

"You know, I never thought of that," Cody said. Damien's eyes were twinkling with laughter.

"And with that being said, I think I'm going to get into this lovely purple turtleneck AJ brought me and go face Dr. Rios. He's probably irate," Serena mused. They shook their heads.

"I explained what happened," Seth told her. "He's not angry at you."

"Thanks, Seth. I mean it: I don't know what I would do without you guys."

"You'll never have to know," Dean promised her. She hugged him tightly and began to cry. Wade rubbed her back soothingly. AJ watched the whole exchange and knew she needed to have a talk with Serena when she came over for girl's night.