A/N: Once again, thank you all so much for the reviews, I really appreciate them all, and I'm so happy you like the story. Simple reminder, I'm tweaking things a bit. I hope you enjoy, review if you want to, but I always encourage it. :)

She had never shrugged so much in her entire life. After making sure Dolph got out of her room this morning, it seemed like all she was doing was shrugging. Everyone was questioning what was going on with her, her motives, and she wasn't talking. It wasn't their business right now. When she wanted the truth to be revealed, it would be revealed and not a moment sooner. This was her world now. She didn't bend to other's whims. She was no longer going to be a pushover.

She just had to make it to the show later. This morning had been surprisingly pleasant, especially since she'd spent it with Dolph. She'd expected any good will and fun from the night before to fade in the awkward morning light of a shared hotel room, but it didn't. She'd woken up only to see him with the worst bed-head she'd ever seen, and she'd laughed because it was ridiculous how frizzy his hair could get. He'd only laughed in response while trying to smooth his hair down.

It was nice not to feel so lonely.

He'd actually stayed for breakfast, and for the first time in a long time, she felt like someone didn't hate her presence. She knew Dolph wasn't a friend, he was barely an acquaintance, but he was her partner for the time being, and it could only help to get along with him. Whatever distrust he'd felt faded the moment she'd pushed Cena off the ladder, and his demeanor changed almost immediately. He smiled at her, joked with her, and maybe at the end of this, they could be friends because she had so few of those nowadays, and it never hurt to have one more, someone who might not betray her at the end of the day.

For now, though, she was alone. She and Dolph agreed that it would be best if they didn't see each other for the rest of the day. They'd had a plan for tonight, something they'd ironed out as they fought over who got the strawberry jam and who got stuck with the orange marmalade (she'd won in a wrestling trivia challenge where they'd asked each other increasingly difficult questions. Dolph didn't know the youngest woman to ever win the Women's title). She was sad to see him go, but couldn't wait until later that evening.

When she arrived at work, she was greeted with silence and stares, and as soon as she walked past, she could hear the murmurs of her coworkers. They were probably asking themselves why this slightly deranged girl would turn on the only man who was ever nice to her. She wanted to open their eyes, and she would do it if it was the last thing she did in this company. She wanted to pull the veil from everyone's face to reveal the true, cruel nature of John Cena.

She walked into the women's locker room, and everything went silent as she stepped inside. Even the women who were more despicable than she'd ever been were giving her glares. John Cena was the face of the company after all; he was the golden boy, the one they all strove to be like. She should have known even the ones who were horrible would despise her. She vowed not to care about them. She found a locker in the corner and settled in, not letting anyone get to her.

"Hey, AJ."

AJ looked to her side and saw her former best friend, Kaitlyn. She looked hesitant to even talk to her, and AJ wondered why she would even bother. "What is it, Kaitlyn? I thought we weren't friends anymore."

"I just…after last night, I don't…I really don't get what's up with you," Kaitlyn told her. "I mean, Cena's like a pretty good guy."

"Sure," AJ went back to putting her things away, ignoring Kaitlyn.

"It just doesn't make sense, any of this, any of your actions. Like, did Daniel really screw you up that much?" Kaitlyn asked. "You can talk to me, I mean, you know, deep down, we're probably kind of still friends."

AJ didn't say anything to her, grabbing her phone and sitting down, looking at it and scrolling through her messages just to give her something to do. Dolph sent her a couple messages earlier saying that he was still avoiding Vickie, something she'd fully endorsed when he brought it up this morning. The less anyone knew about their motives the better. That way it would make a bigger impact when they told everyone the truth.

"AJ?" Kaitlyn was still yapping beside her. "AJ, are you listening to me?"

"Oh, are you still here?" AJ asked, tilting her head and gazing at Kaitlyn, but really just gazing through her. "I thought you left."

"What happened last night?"

"None of your business," AJ told her, going back to her phone. She had to make sure someone was here because when she told Dolph she would help him get the title, she wasn't kidding. Vickie was always blinded by her little crush on Dolph, but seeing as how AJ had no romantic feelings for the man, she could really help him. Vickie just saw a cute guy who she got to hang out with and pretend like he was interested in her. AJ saw his potential to be a future champion, and she would make sure he got it.

"AJ?" Kaitlyn was still trying to talk to her, but she effectively ignored her until she went away. Kaitlyn was always trying to "save" her, but AJ didn't want her pity. Kaitlyn was her friend once, but she was always judging AJ, trying to steer her in whatever direction Kaitlyn saw fit, and she was sick of it. She was sick of everything except for Dolph and their plan.

It wasn't like he understood her or anything, but at least he didn't judge her anymore. At least she could sit down with him for a meal and talk about stupid things and not feelings or her actions. And she didn't have to sit there and wonder if the other person thought she was crazy. They'd hashed it out, and she believed him when he said he didn't think she was crazy. And it was nice, he was nice, and if she only had him, she could deal with that.

She sat there, alone, for the duration of the show until the Kiss of the Year was coming up. That was her category, quite literally. Every kiss that was nominated included her. She felt only slightly sleazy about that, but she didn't have time to think about it because either way, she was accepting an award, not that she necessarily wanted to see any of those kisses again. It was just a sorry reminder about how she continually put her heart out there and every time got another form of rejection.

The heavens must have been having a laugh at her when it was John Cena who won along with her. He was nowhere around, thankfully, probably off nursing his wounds after last night, and good for him, he deserved to sit there and think about what happened. She had something else to do. She walked out there to accept her award, and just like she thought, Vickie was upset with her, wanting to know, nay demanding to know why she helped Dolph the night before. AJ just shrugged again, saying that she didn't care any longer.

Vickie looked like she was going to pounce on her, calling her trash again. She stood up to her again, and that's when the plan really set itself into motion. Dolph ran out there and got in between them. He told her this wasn't how they were going to do this, but it was, and they both knew it. They had to establish that they were a dominant force now, a couple that rivaled any other couple that came before them. They would get power, but first, they had to be a couple.

She told Vickie, everyone, that while the kiss with Cena may have won Kiss of the Year, it wasn't going to be anything compared what she was about to do. She looked at Dolph, smirking at him as she threw herself onto him, locking her legs around his waist and holding onto him. She started kissing him, sloppily at best, and waited for him to kiss her back. It took a few moments, just enough time for him to appear as if to register what was happening before he kissed her back. Vickie stood there and screamed at Dolph, yelling at him to stop, but they didn't, at least not immediately.

It was strange to say the least, kissing someone for whom she had no feelings. There was still that heady rush that came with a first kiss, that exploration, but it was frenzied, and his hands were suddenly in her hair and weaving through the strands as she tried to find his mouth. He opened his mouth at one point and she went with it, deepening the kiss. She didn't care how it looked, just that it happened, and because of that, it probably came off like they were trying to eat each other's faces. It was surprisingly otherwise not that awkward.

Eventually, AJ jumped down from Dolph's arms and stood in front of him, Vickie still seething behind him. He looked at her, as if stunned before he turned to Vickie. He smirked at the older woman as he took AJ's hand in his, lacing their fingers together as they turned and walked backstage, leaving a stunned Vickie in their wake. AJ contained her squeal of delight as they walked backstage, everyone staring at them and their clasped hands.

"What the hell are you staring at?" Dolph asked them as he and AJ walked down the hallway to the private dressing room Dolph requested that evening. As soon as they were inside, they let go of their joined hands and AJ came up to hug him.

"That was great!" AJ said, pulling away, totally unaware she'd just hugged him. "Oh my God, did you see Vickie's face?"

"I did," Dolph laughed, "I think she was about to blow a blood vessel."

"She was, I think," AJ laughed, going over and taking a seat on the couch. "I think it's safe to say she got the message that your…alliance is over. Might want to clarify that with her if you can, just in case she didn't figure it out."

"I know," Dolph came and sat next to her, "so what do you have planned for the rest of the night, I saw you texting this morning when you thought I wasn't looking, so what gives? You have something up your sleeve, I can tell."

"Already, you can tell what I'm thinking already?" she asked slyly.

"I can read people pretty well, yeah, so what's going on? We're partners now, you can't keep secrets from me, that's not how it's supposed to work."

"I have a friend—"

"Wow, you have a friend, this must be a first," he told her and she narrowed her eyes and stuck her tongue out him. "Okay, so just who is this friend, and why does this friend matter to the two of us?"

"Because I've hired him to help us," AJ said, "well, hired is such a weird word. He's going to help us, he's going to help you win the title."

"You know I don't need anyone, right?"

"I know, I know your hubris will carry you right to the championship along with that briefcase," she said, "but it never hurts to have backup. I mean, you have other guys who have someone to take care of things for them. Shawn Michaels had Nash, didn't he?"

"You're a fan?"

She scoffed, "I've always been a fan, just one of the things nobody really bothered to know about me." AJ shrugged her shoulder flippantly. "Whatever, I don't care about what anyone thinks. He's going to be there just in case. Once you win the title, you're going to have a target on your back, and it never hurts to have someone there to run interference in case some guys get chippy."

"I think once I win, everyone is going to be chippy," Dolph scoffed, "but I have to win that first."

AJ waved her hand, "That's not even a question, we just have to wait for the right moment, and when that moment happens, we'll know it, and you'll be champion. You're not going to lose it because you're not stupid like Cena was when he cashed in."

"I'm glad we agree on that one, telling everyone you're going to cash in, ridiculous. I don't care if I win it in the sleaziest, dirtiest way, that's how you're supposed to use it," Dolph glanced at the briefcase as AJ's phone buzzed again. He watched her as she typed something out, her fingers flying across the screen. Her eyes were so focused, and she was so calculating, and how had nobody recognized the look in her eyes. How could they be so oblivious to the true nature of this woman? She was something of a mad genius. "So who the hell is this person that's supposed to be my heavy?" AJ stopped what she was doing and looked up at him, raising a single eyebrow as one side of her lips quirked up.

"Big E Langston."