A/N: Thanks again for the reviews, they're always really appreciated, hope you enjoy the chapter! :)
AJ stood in the middle of the ring where both Cena and Vickie were lying, lifeless, in the middle.
Big E stood behind her, arms crossed, no expression on his face.
Dolph stood next to her, holding her hand up in the air as his music blared through the arena.
They had officially arrived.
AJ looked around at the arena, eyes not focusing on any one person but all people. The boos rained down from the ceiling, coating her in their dark veneer. She smirked, reveling in it, loving the hatred. She could lock herself up in that, her heart hardened already, and shrug them off. AJ pulled her arm down from Dolph's and stood over Vickie Guerrero. She knelt down next to her, as if examining her. Vickie opened one eye and groaned.
AJ grabbed her by the hair, pulled her up, and blew a kiss in her face, "Don't worry, Grammy Vickie, I'll take good care of Dolph. Good luck." AJ slammed Vickie's head down on the mat again, making the older woman groan again and roll out of the ring in shame. AJ watched as she hobbled slowly up the ramp before her attention returned to Cena.
"E!" she called out, nodding towards Cena. E went over to the prone man, lifting him up. E was strong enough to pull him to standing even if Cena was dead weight at the moment. E pinned Cena's arms behind his back as he stood there, slightly slumped but upright. AJ glanced over at Dolph, and he raised an eyebrow, but not out of curiosity, out of amusement. He held his hands out, palms up, and spread them, telling her silently to do what she wanted to do. He walked to the ropes, casually leaning back against them.
AJ walked over and grabbed a microphone just as Cena appeared to be regaining coherency. She walked over to him and tapped him lightly on the cheek. "John…John, sweetie, wake up…"
"Huh?" he muttered and E pulled him harder so he kind of jerked into consciousness. He tried to struggle, but struggling was only making his arms ache more so he stopped, looking at the petite woman in front of him. "What the hell, AJ?"
"For months now, months, I've let men dictate my life," AJ started. "I let them abuse me, walk all over me, try to manipulate me, and discard me like I was nothing but trash. Dolph was right, I was just a piece of trash to all of you. Daniel never cared about me, Punk thought I was a crazy chick from the start, Kane thought I was mental, but you, John, oh, you…"
"Let me go!"
"John, I don't think that's a good idea," Dolph called from the corner.
"You should listen to Dolph, he's the only smart one around here," AJ threw him a smile, which he returned readily. "You were supposed to be the good guy, John. You were supposed to be the one who was different. That's why I gave up my dream for you. That's why I gave up everything for you. I thought you were the one who was supposed to care.
"Look around, John," AJ started walking around the ring. "All these people, they see your good deeds, they see you being this stand-up guy, but that's not you, is it? No, that's just what you want people to see. That's just what you want people to think, but you aren't that nice guy. You broke my heart, John. You broke my heart, and now it's time to break your face. And I want everyone to see it. I want everyone to see what I'm capable of."
"You're crazy!" John yelled at her.
"Hey!" Dolph interrupted. "She's not crazy, she's just passionate. You really should think before you treat people like crap, Cena. Maybe next time you'll think twice about stringing someone along."
"You are nothing, John Cena. You are nothing but a petty, horrible man who hides his real self behind the façade of being the good guy. But you aren't going to be the man around here anymore. That title is going to belong to Dolph Ziggler."
Dolph walked over and wrapped his arm around AJ's waist from behind. "Along with the World Title soon enough."
AJ patted his hand, "Yeah, Dolph Ziggler is the only one around here with any talent…or brains."
"You see, Cena, AJ isn't stupid, I never said she was although I questioned her taste in men, but she's taken a huge step up from all the other guys," he said cockily as AJ nodded eagerly. "None of you knew how to treat her. None of you knew just what she was capable of, but I knew. I knew, and you're about to know, and Daniel, Punk, Kane, you three are about to know too. You're going to know what you're in for because we're not going to be satisfied with just taking down you, are we, baby?"
"No, we're not, we're putting the entire roster on notice."
"We're the best things in the WWE right now, and we're going to prove it." Cena struggled harder against Big E and Dolph stepped around AJ and punched Cena in the face.
"Babe, would you like to do the honors?" Dolph asked. AJ stepped forward, reared her hand back, and slapped the taste out of Cena's mouth. He slumped down and E finally let go of him, making him fall to the mat in a heap.
Dolph licked his lips and turned to AJ, grabbing her by the back of her head and crashing his lips down against hers. AJ lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, pulling him down. She kissed him fervently, their mouths sloppy and all over the place. He opened his mouth, hoping to gain entry to hers, and she was surprised at his deepening the kiss yet again. She went with it again, opening her mouth and dueling her tongue with his. She got lost for a moment, kissing this man.
She was loath to admit it, but it felt nice to kiss a man who actually kissed her back. The other men, more often than not, she had to either coax them or she just kissed them with her own reckless abandon, hoping they would return the favor, but usually they never did. This time though, Dolph's hand was threading through her hair as his other hand pressed against her lower back. She finally needed air and pulled away, taking a moment to stare into Dolph's blue eyes. She turned away quickly, licking her lips, tasting his chapstick on them. She ran her index finger along the bottom of her mouth.
She dropped her microphone and Dolph did the same as they walked towards the ropes. Dolph slipped ahead of her, holding the ropes for her. She smiled at him gratefully, and hopped out of the ring. He followed, grabbing her hand and linking their fingers together. Neither one looked back, but knew that E was following behind them. They walked backstage. AJ saw Kaitlyn hanging around, obviously having watched what just happened.
AJ let go of Dolph's hand and walked over to her former best friend. AJ reached out and ran her finger down the Diva's title hanging from Kaitlyn's shoulder. "I like this."
"Get your hands off my title."
"You're awfully protective of it," AJ turned her gaze to her former friend. "My mind hasn't been clear for a while now."
"It's still not clear, you are insane," Kaitlyn told her.
AJ tilted her head, "No, Katie, my mind is anything but insane. I see things for how they really are now. I see how you were the bad friend who ditched me when I needed you most. I see how you only wanted the title…and now I want the title."
"You're not going to get it."
"That's where you're wrong," AJ said, "I'm going to take your title, and I'm going to leave you all alone, and then I'll have everything I want. And I can watch you cry and be alone, I think that's a win-win situation for everyone, don't you think?"
"I don't have to give you a match."
"No, you don't have to give me a match, but I never figured you'd be such a chicken," AJ shrugged. "I mean, I always thought you said you'd be a fighting champion, and I don't see anyone else lining up for the chance. So I think you should give that to me, and if you don't, I'm sure I can find someone higher than you that will."
"Don't worry, babe," Dolph said, "I know you'll get that belt around your waist, and it's going to look so hot on you."
"Aww, babe," AJ said, leaning up and kissing his cheek.
"You're really falling for this?" Kaitlyn asked Dolph.
"Falling for what?" Dolph asked. "Maybe you never knew her to begin with, but she'll show you. All in due time, Kaitlyn, all in due time."
"Keep my belt warm for me," AJ grinned at her, grabbing Dolph's hand again and walking away with him. When they finally reached their locker room, she skipped inside and nearly squealed with delight. "Oh my God, that was so good, do you feel as good as I do?"
"That was really, really good," Dolph nodded, and it did feel good. For so long, he knew he was the best thing on this show, he knew he went out there and out-performed everyone, but he never got the recognition for it. It was always someone else's time, the spotlight was always on someone else. Not anymore. With AJ by his side, with Big E backing him up, he finally felt that light shifting towards him, and he was going to make the most of it.
"I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest," she pressed both palms against her heart where it was still beating rapidly. "He was just so helpless, and now he knows how I felt. That night…ugh, I don't even want to think about it, it's over, it's done with, and now all that's left is for him to pay."
"And don't worry, we'll make him pay."
"Yeah, we will," AJ said, "we better get out of here. I don't want to stick around in case anyone wants to challenge you already. I have a feeling we've just put a huge target on our backs."
"Yes, we did, but that's what we want," Dolph said. "E, did you want to come with us?"
"No, it's cool, I have my own ride. I'll catch you tomorrow," he said, referring to the live Smackdown they were scheduled for. AJ nodded as Big E left, leaving her and Dolph alone. AJ gave a short shrug of excuse for Big E's hasty departure.
"I'm not sure he's a big talker," AJ laughed, sitting down on the couch, trying to calm her nerves. Dolph came over and sat next to her. "Did you mean what you said? That you really think I can actually win the Diva's title?"
"Of course you can, I've seen you wrestle, and you're really good. I also know you have a lot more experience than Kaitlyn does," Dolph pointed out, "that's only going to help you. Plus, I've tagged with her before, I know her style, and I know her flaws. I'm going to help you get that title if I have to drag you on top of her for the pin."
"We'd have everything, you with the title, me with the title, us taking out everyone, it almost seems like a dream come true," she bit her lip.
"But that can't be the only dream, right?" he asked, suddenly turning a little bit serious. "I mean, there's more than just wrestling, don't you think? What's one thing that you want to do outside of wrestling, anything, it could be anything, sky diving, bungee jumping, going on a safari. Don't let this be your entire life. Don't let revenge be the only thing because once you have it, what do you have left?"
"I've always wanted to go on a cruise, is that dumb?" AJ laughed, "I mean, I don't know, I just like the thought of being out in the ocean, nothing around and just…even if it's just a sailboat, just the freeness of it, you know."
"Okay, so when we take out everyone, I will take you out on a boat."
"You will?" she laughed, peering at him, wondering if he was being serious. "You know how to sail a boat?"
"No, but that doesn't mean I can't find someone that does. And we'll celebrate, I'll bring champagne for me and for you, sparkling cider—"
"You remembered I don't drink," she beamed at him.
"You only mentioned it last night, didn't really have time to forget." It was still something though. Him remembering was still something to her.
"What's one thing you want to do?" she asked.
"I'd love to do a stand up routine, I'm a little nervous about it."
"Okay, well, I will make you do a stand up routine, it's only fair, when this is all over, you're going to make people laugh…on purpose."
"Hey!" he scoffed, pretending to be offended. "Let's just focus on getting the belts and revenge first, okay. Everything else can come second."
"Yes, we have lots of work still left to do."