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"What's up, girl?" Naomi asked as she scooted into the seat beside Athena, brushing a strand of her dark raven hair behind her ear before leaning her elbows on the table as her dark eyes locked onto Athena.
Looking up Athena scrunched her face up momentarily at her friend. "The usual crap," she moaned before letting out a loud groan as she fell dramatically onto the table, her face mushed against the cold wood.
Naomi raised her eyebrows and her lips parted slightly. "Another one?" She asked disbelieving.
Athena nodded from her slouched position. "Yep," she sat back up, her auburn locks tousled. "I mean seriously? How can they keep putting me in handicap matches? Tonight I've got my fourth one in two weeks. The fans are going to get bored and I'm going to kill myself," she whined dramatically.
"Calm down, girl," the brunette spoke. "No need for all those dramatics," she smiled waving her hand around Athena's body, before frowning slightly. "What does Seth say about it?"
Naomi and Athena had been friends since they'd met at NXT, but with Naomi in a tag team with her over the top friend Cameron, filming for Total Divas, and being married to another WWE superstar, the two friends didn't spend that much time together.
Even if they didn't spend a great deal of time together, Naomi didn't like her friend was dating Seth Rollins.
The Shield had terrorised the roster for what seemed like an eternity now, attacking innocent victims at the command of the cruel hierarchy of the WWE. They'd attacked her husband and her brother-in-law countless times, and even if they were pretending to play the good guys these days, the anti-heroes, Naomi could see straight through them. And she had no idea what her sweet, innocent friend was doing with one of them.
"Erghhh," Athena whined as she twirled the straw in her Diet Coke. "He knows Steph's putting me in these matches because of what's going on with The Shield and Evolution," she sighed. "But he keeps saying not to worry that it'll all be over after Payback."
"And how the hell does he know that?" Naomi barked loudly, her accent thick. "Is he Mystic Meg now or something? He must be trippin' if he thinks Triple H is going to let it go if The Shield beat him' and his boys again."
Athena threw her hands up in the air before letting them fall back to her side. "Thank you! Finally someone agrees with me! He didn't give up after Battleground, why after Payback? The only way this war is going to end is if The Shield lose and let it go."
Naomi nodded in agreement. "I don' envy you, girly."
"It's not even like we're super serious or anything," Athena rambled beginning to twirl a strand of hair. "I didn't even know that The Authority knew we were a thing."
Naomi laughed. "The whole company knows you're a thing! You stay in his room most nights, your travel on the road with him from town to town, and most of the guys in the locker room are scared to even look at you encase The Shield turn on them. I barely see you and even I know all that," she paused. "Not to mention the pictures of you two together all over the internet."
"This sucks. I try not to stay there all the time but he just complains that he's worried about me when I stay in my room," she pursed her lips. "And when I do stay in his room I have to put up with," she put on an overly nice voice, "super sweet Dean Ambrose." She licked her lips quickly. "It's a lose lose situation. Oh and all those pictures of Seth and I, there from going to and from his Cross Fit sessions that he makes me watch."
Naomi chuckled at her friend's miserable face. "I saw a picture that someone edited to make it look like you two were getting married-"
Athena interrupted. "Oh that makes me want to vomit."
"Well that say's a lot," Naomi said raising her brows.
Maybe it did, Athena thought. She really liked Seth, she knew that without a doubt. But he came with so much baggage that she couldn't fully enjoy him; he was sweet and kind one minute then mistrustful and controlling the next. At first Athena had been flattered that he was jealous of other guys looking at her, and that's why he didn't want her wearing anything overly revealing. But five months into the relationship, it was growing stale very fast. He was so loving and caring but yet he seemed to think the way Dean spoke to her wasn't an issue and that it was all in jest. Athena wanted to avoid Dean as much as possible, but she knew they came as a packaged deal and she'd never want to cause a rift between the best friends.
She just longed for the day when she wouldn't have to be around Dean Ambrose.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Athena sat watching the monitor backstage dressed in her ring gear, unsure if The Authority would put her in a last minute match as retribution for the Shield's clean sweep over Evolution the previous evening.
Smiling slightly to herself, Athena was ecstatic Seth, Roman and Dean had annihilated Evolution. They'd deserved the beating they'd received and she'd watched elated as each member of Evolutions oversized egos took a slaughtering. She almost laughed out loud at how devastated they must feel about losing to The Shield, two pay-per-views in a row!
The Bella twins snaked their way over to her and sat down silently beside her, both their dark eyes watching Athena's face as The Shield's music hit and Seth bounced down with aisle with his brothers.
"Awh," cooed Nikki. "Look how happy she is watching her man," she patted Athena patronizingly on the arm.
Athena narrowed her eyes in slightly on Nikki for a second before folding her arms over her chest then returned her big blue eyes to the screen, choosing to ignore her.
"You must be so proud of him," Brie began. "I remember when my husband, Daniel, won The WWE World Heavyweight Championship," she sighed loudly whilst smiling looking off into the distance for a second before her dark eyes snapped back to Athena. "It was amazing."
"Do you think Hunter's going to leave you alone now, Attie?" Nikki began and Athena closed her eyes and shook her head lightly willing them to dissapear.
They both huffed in unison as Athena ignored them and kept her eyes fixated on the screen.
Dean was speaking with a smirk etched on his face and his hair wet and dishevelled. "-And we did exactly what we said we were going to do," his hand swooped through the air. "A clean sweep. We eliminated every single member of Evolution," he swaggered back and forth smirking. "Without suffering a single casualty. NOW THAT is what I can DOMINATION!" He dropped the mic to the floor as he paced the ring.
As much as Athena disliked Dean, she found herself smiling at his enthusiasm in the ring.
She smiled even wider as Seth brought his microphone to his lips.
"Awhhhh," Brie and Nikki said in unison, looking at her wide smile.
"I think its love," Nikki swooned.
Brie nodded slowly. "Definitely love."
Athena rolled her eyes. "Would you guys shut up?"
"Ohhh," the said once again in unison.
"Somebody's cranky."
"Missing Seth?" Nikki beamed.
Athena stared forward and did her best to ignore them as Seth spoke.
"-And earlier tonight the whole world was a witness to their implosion," Seth paused before chuckling lowly. He turned and faced the side of the crowd, his face grim. "And the reason Evolution perished was because even though they are three of the greatest superstars in the history of this industry, last night they were not one," he held his gloved finger up. "Like The Shield. In the end they were just three strangers who happened to be standing on the same side of the ring," Seth lowered his mic as Roman raised his. He reached out and touched Seth on the shoulder.
"They weren't brothers," Roman began. "The men standing in this ring are brothers."
"He's so hot," Nikki pouted staring at Roman on the screen.
Athena turned and raised her brows at the louder twin.
"Nikki," Brie almost screamed drowning out the rest of Roman's speech. "What would John say?"
Nikki giggled. "Hey, I'm allowed to window shop." She flicked her hair over her shoulder dramatically. "Don't tell me you wouldn't go there if you weren't married Brie?" Nikki smirked at Brie's disgusted face. "It must be so hot in their hotel room Attie."
"What?"
"Well the three of them, walking around shirtless," she began to mock fan herself.
"Nikki!" Brie scolded.
"The only thing hotter would be if John were in there with them," she fanned herself quicker enjoying Athena and Brie's uncomfortable stares. "Whoof, it's almost too much to think about."
Brie shook her head. "Have you forgotten how they attacked John, Nikki? How they attacked my husband? How can you find them hot? They're bad people."
"Hey!" Athena interjected. "They had their reasons."
Brie cocked an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What reasons?"
Athena looked down into her lap. "I didn't say I knew their reasons," she mumbled. "Anyway, they've turned over a new leaf," Athena said brightly as Brie shook her head in disbelief and Nikki watched on smiling enjoying what she had stared. "They saved your husband from a beating not long ago."
By the time the three women turned back to the screen Triple H and Randy Orton were heading close to the ring, Randy in his trunks and Triple H in a suit with a sledge hammer held lazily over his shoulder.
Seth dived out the back of the ring and quickly brought two chairs back into the ring as Dean and Roman watched the two hated men make their way closer. Seth held the black steel chair menacingly in his hands.
Athena's breath caught in her throat as she stared at Triple H's sledgehammer, desperately hoping Seth and Roman didn't get hit by it. Or Dean even.
The three Shield members stood strong and united in the middle of the ring.
"Encase you haven't figured it out yet, what I do better than anybody is adapt." Triple H began, a knowing smile littering his lips as Randy bounced ready to pounce next to him. "Last night was plan A," Triple H stared at his sledgehammer admiringly. "Tonight is plan B. There's always a plan B." Triple H let the mic fall to his side as Dean and Roman began to menacingly step forward.
Roman looked confident and Dean curled and uncurled his fists slightly as he smiled mockingly down at his enemy's.
Seth hung back.
Hung back as his brother's moved in for the kill.
Watched his brother's move forward without him beside them.
Raising the steel chair Seth slammed it into Roman's back with such force Roman's knees buckled and he fell to the floor.
Athena gasped loudly, standing up and her small delicate hand coming up to cover her mouth.
"Oh my God!" Brie gasped.
"What the fuck?!" Nikki yelled crudely, smiling.
Athena's heart pounded in her chest as she stared at the screen, her big blue eyes wide and shifting. What was happening? What the hell was he doing? She took a step forward feebly, her hand still covering her mouth.
Dean stood shocked. He stared at Roman's falling form, his lips parted and his icy blue eyes blank. Finally he looked around, his eyes flicking quickly from Roman to Seth and he stood stout his mouth beginning to fall wider and wider.
Seth watched Dean with an almost blank expression.
Finally Dean seemed to gather his senses and went to charge at Seth. Seth rammed the chair into Dean's stomach roughly forcing Dean to bend over winded; Seth raised the chair quickly and smashed it mercilessly onto Dean's back forcing the weakened man to fall to his knees.
Athena squeaked as her eyes became watery as she watched Seth slam the chair down onto his brother, his best friend, Dean's back over and over again.
The chair dented as Dean rolled over trying to protect his stomach though Seth spared him no mercy, angrily slamming the chair down onto his arms and chest before Dean turned back onto his stomach and Seth continued his brutal assault of Dean's back.
Athena could hear The Bella twins talking animatedly behind her though she heard no word. She shook her head nervously, her auburn curls swishing around her face as she watched her boyfriend, her lovely boyfriend, who would do anything for his friends, break the chair over Dean's broken and battered body.
Dean writhed around in pain, his strong arms wrapped around himself.
Seth brought in another chair as the chants of 'You sold out' ripped through the arena. Seth stared down at Dean and dropped the chair under Dean's chin and for a moment Athena could breathe again, assuming Seth had finished with his uncontrolled assault of his brothers.
"No!" She squeaked out her hand coming forward to touch the screen as Seth ran to the ropes and Dean struggled to his feet; Seth bounced off the ropes and curb stomped Dean's face into the steel chair.
Dean's head bounced off the chair with a crack.
Athena's head felt like it was going to explode. Without knowing where she was going she dashed away from the monitor with tears staining her pale face as the Bella's called after her.
I know a lot of this chapter was what we've all already seen : ( (I still wish we hadn't! WHY SETH WHY?!) but it needed to be shown for the progression of the story.
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