S'up!

So, a pretty drama filled chapter last time, huh? Pretty intense and pretty horrible for Ellie… Well it isn't about to get any better sadly! It can't be fluff all the time sadly. We need to get a few sad and drama-filled chapters out of the way before we can get to the fluff again. So I hope you're ready for it.

Paisley2 – Ellie will learn soon enough where her feelings lie. All in good time, my dear.

BeckyLynch'sTheme – Poor Ellie indeed. I hated writing this chapter because it's so vile. But it's opening her eyes to what Randy is.

LatinaWWEFan – I now have this vision of Seth in a suit of armour, riding in on a white horse! It's a very nice vision to have :P

Sebastianm101 – Very intense. It was very drama filled, I think!

Debwood-1999 – Don't you worry, Seth will be figuring things out soon. He's so attentive to Ellie, how can he not? Randy is definitely a very sick and possessive man here, which is weird to write because I love him so much in real life! haha! He will certainly get his comeuppance eventually.

Tantoune – Ellie is kind of blinded by Randy at the minute. She's still in love with him and has invested a lot of time into their relationship, so it's not that easy for her just to drop him like that. I'm sure Seth can work his magic and eventually convince her other wise soon enough. Thank you so much for the continued support.

Lilygirl95 – Your review says it all! Don't worry, Seth will be figuring stuff out soon enough. And when he does, you know he won't stop until he saves her

MsConCon - Seth and Ellie are definitely getting closer. I definitely wanted their dinner to seem like a date without actually being a date so I could show that obvious connection and chemistry between them. And Randy is essentially completely fucked up in this story! I needed him to do something so vile, not only to get a reaction from readers but from Ellie also so that she can finally begin to see the light. If only there was a beautiful man with blonde and brown hair to save her... ;)

Dutchangel1979 - Seth will definitely be putting clues together soon. All in good time. And I hope you're well and there wasn't too much drama. Lots of love to you :)

This chapter is named after 'Fair-weather Friends' by Queens of the Stone Age.

Elizabeth Chapman's Point Of View

I felt like utter shit when I got to the arena for Smackdown the next night. I wanted to call in sick and say I couldn't make it, but I knew it wasn't very professional and I knew I was needed tonight. Plus I'd only been at this job for around a month. It didn't make a good impression if I was already bailing on them.

So I manned up and decided to go in despite my anxiety and despite how low I felt.

Randy had never lashed out like that before. I'd never seen such a violent outburst from him in the year I'd been with him. The only time he'd acted like that was in the ring with a person who could fight him back. Sure, he'd shouted before, and yes, he always had ways of getting into my head. But he'd never laid a finger on me and threatened me so terribly before.

I pulled the turtle neck top I'd decided to wear higher up my neck as I was granted access into the arena, making sure nobody could see the finger marks that lay on the skin below.

The marks were sadly still there. Even though I was hoping with all my heart that they would have faded by now, my skin was still covered in red marks from where Randy had grabbed me. He'd squeezed my throat so tightly that I knew the skin would soon bruise. Randy had not known his own strength and now I had proof of what he had done all over my neck.

I couldn't let anybody see it, I just couldn't. Too many questions would be raised and too many answers would be wanted. I hadn't dealt with it myself yet so the last thing I needed was others needing to know what's going on. So I made sure the material covered my neck completely so I wouldn't get any stares.

Randy had mentioned nothing about the situation once we'd returned to our hotel room later that night. Instead he simply went straight to bed without a single word to me. He was gone when I awoke too, leaving a note saying he'd gone down to the gym. I hadn't seen him since, and I knew I'd really done it this time.

Ignoring me, shouting at me, avoiding me, the… violence. Randy was angry. I'd betrayed his trust, I'd lied to him, I'd broken my promise to stay away, and now I was paying for it in the worst way possible. My boyfriend hated me, my neck hurt, and I now had to stay away from my friend over the fear of being caught and getting hurt again.

I knew Seth was worried, I had 12 texts and 5 missed calls on my phone from him proving that. I hadn't responded, I couldn't. It wasn't something that was possible anymore. I needed to stop encouraging him and keep a reasonable distance from him in order to get him to leave me be. It was all I could do. It brought tears to my eyes but he had to stay away from now on.

When I started this job, I seemed so optimistic. Now I just wanted to hide in a dark room and never come out again.

I was on cloud nine only a month ago. Now I'd been dropped unceremoniously to the ground, hitting everything on my way down.

I cautiously walked through the corridors of the arena, heading in the direction of the locker room I'd be assigned. I literally wanted to meet nobody on my walk. Not Randy, not The Shield, not even Renee. I just wanted to get there in one piece with no issue. That way I could rest up and apply whatever makeup I could in order to hide the red marks before I gave my interviews.

But life never flows that simply, does it?

Within seconds I turned a corner to see Seth, Roman and Dean deep in conversation near a few crates, no doubt discussing their match tonight.

I skidded to a halt, my eyes widening when I saw them, my heart stopping in my chest. I tried to quickly turn on my heel and walk to my locker room via another way before I was spotted, but it was too late. Seth had already seen me.

Are you actually kidding me right now?

I noticed him mutter something to his brothers before rushing over to me, but I didn't have time to stop. I didn't look at him, I rushed away, ignoring him even when he called my name over and over again. I wished he'd stop, I wished he'd just drop it and leave me alone. Randy could be round any corner watching, he could appear at any moment to ask what was going on. I could not be seen with Seth and he had to learn to just leave me alone.

As much as I hated it and as much as it hurt me, Seth Rollins just needed to fuck off.

But Seth was bigger and stronger than me, and he wasn't walking in heels, so he was a damn sight faster at catching me than I was at escaping him. He reached me within a matter of seconds.

"Ellie?" he said, his tone a little frustrated. "I've been calling you. Didn't you hear me?"

"S-Sorry," I said, continuing to walk, not looking at him.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

"I'm busy, Seth. Maybe another time."

"Ellie, what the hell is going on?" he asked, walking alongside me, easily keeping up with my pace.

"Nothing," I argued back. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."

"No I won't," he said. "We need to talk and we are doing it now."

And then he grabbed my arm, causing me to gasp, pulling me into a nearby empty locker room. He closed the door behind us and locked it before switching the light on. Clearly we were not being interrupted.

I looked at the floor, moving awkwardly from foot to foot, wishing a black hole would appear, suck me up, and never let me see the light of day again. I couldn't be here, I shouldn't be here. I was playing with fire simply by being in here alone with Seth and there was a constant niggling in the back of my mind that we were going to be discovered.

I just wanted to leave, I wanted to be out of this room before anyone saw. I was already in enough trouble with Randy. The last thing I needed was more.

"Look, what do you want?" I asked, my tone horribly harsh. "I have things I need to do, Seth."

I watched his feet turn and I knew he was facing me. "I want to know what the fuck is going on?" he asked. "I've text you, I've tried calling you… Why did you run out on us yesterday?"

"I didn't," I tried.

"Bullshit," he said, calling me out. "You looked fine sitting there with Renee. Then the second we show up, the moment I talk to you, you completely bail on us. You legged it out of that room quicker than I could blink."

"I… had a call from my boyfriend," I said, still not looking at him. "I went to go answer it."

"Your phone didn't ring," he said.

"It was on vibrate," I shrugged, but I could tell he wasn't buying it.

"Don't lie to me, Ellie," he said. "Even if you did have a phone-call from him, it doesn't explain the unanswered texts and the missed calls."

"He visited me last night," I said. "I was busy."

"You're lying to me, Ellie," he accused. "For fuck's sake, you won't even look at me!"

So I looked at him.

I moved my head up and looked at him, instantly regretting staring into his deep brown eyes, wishing I'd kept my eyes on the ground as soon as I saw them. They looked so hurt, so confused, so lost. He seemed so sad and broken, and I hated that it was all my fault, that I was causing the hurt on his face. He wanted to know what was going on, and now I was having to play the bitch and ignore him.

The three weeks we'd spent together, the company I'd kept with him, all the laughs and fun we had… They had been some of the best weeks of my entire life. Seth was so genuine, so real, so true, and he wanted to be my friend for me. Not because he thought I was hot, not because he wanted to get into my pants, but because he liked me for me. We had a connection, we had a bond, we had something that was real and it killed me that I had to end this friendship.

It physically hurt, it made me want to cry, because being apart from Seth was going to be tougher than anything I'd ever had to do.

"I don't think we should be friends anymore," I muttered quietly.

He frowned, blinking at me. "What?"

"I said, I don't think we should be friends anymore," I repeated.

His jaw tensed, his nostrils flaring. "That's not you talking, that's your boyfriend talking," he accused.

"No it's not," I said, trying to keep my face straight, using all my might to not burst into tears. "It's a decision I've made, Seth. I don't think it's wise that we stay as friends."

He shook his head. "This isn't you. We get close, you become my friend, you spend time with me for weeks. Then one evening with your boyfriend and suddenly you want to scrap all that and pretend it never happened."

"I'd like it if you'd respect my wishes and let this all go," I said calmly. "We had fun, but I don't think it's wise that we keep a friendship."

"And why isn't it wise?" he argued. "Because I'm a guy? Because your boyfriend is getting jealous and pissy over this? You are your own person, Ellie. You should be able to make your own decisions."

"Seth, please," I said, my hands balling into fists.

"He's being unreasonable," he said, his voice raised. "Does he not trust you or something? Does he feel threatened?"

"Seth, don't," I tried again, but he'd already begun his rant.

"What does he think you're going to do?" he yelled. "Cheat on him? Leave him? I know you're not like that and he should too."

"S-Seth…"

"He sounds like a control freak to me, an utter bastard who needs to let you do what you want."

"Seth…"

"I want to be your friend and I want you in my life. What's so hard for him to understand? What's so bad that you have to fucking cut me out and act as if I never existed?"

"THIS!" I yelled, pulling down the collar of my top, tears building in my eyes as I showed him the red marks along my neck. "This is fucking what!"

He froze, his mouth agape, his eyes wide as he took in the sight before him. His shoulders dropped, his previously angry and frustrated stance gone. Now he just stood there in shock, not believing what he saw.

"Ellie…" he whispered.

And that's when it hit me, that's when I realised what I'd done. I'd shown him, I'd done exactly what I hadn't wanted to do and shown him the proof of what Randy had done, the reason behind why I couldn't be his friend anymore.

My stomach dropped, my face going pale, and I knew I had to get out of there now. So I bolted. I attempted to escape the room, but I didn't get very far, Seth stepping in front of me.

I collided with his chest, his arms suddenly wrapping themselves around me and pulling me softly to him, rubbing my back soothingly. In that moment I didn't care what Randy had said, the floodgates had opened and I just needed the comfort. The door was locked and no one could access us, so I knew we couldn't be caught. I needed love, I needed to be consoled, I needed to be reassured.

So I hugged Seth back, resting my head on his chest as he held me close. I felt him rest his head on top of mine as I closed my eyes, letting the gentle lull of his heartbeat calm and relax me.

Being here felt so nice, so warm, so… good. This felt different from when Randy held me. Whenever I was in Randy's arms, it felt forced, possessive and harsh, like he was showing me off and keeping me captured.

But with Seth it felt warm, it felt inviting, it felt loving. It felt as if I wasn't forced to be here, I was in his arms because I wanted to be. He held me comfortably, he held me gently, and for the first time in 24 hours I actually smiled.

I found myself holding him tighter, never wanting him to let me go.

"Did he do this to you?" he softly asked me. "Did he threaten you, Ellie?"

And then my eyes shot open, his words bringing me back to reality.

Yes, Randy had done this to me.

Yes, Randy had threatened me.

And I shouldn't be here.

This was what Randy had warned me against, this was exactly what I shouldn't be doing, and this was not helping me in destroying this friendship. The marks on my skin were a clear indication that Randy would not back down over this. He would only get worse, so I needed to stop this before anything else bad could come my way.

So I pulled away. The confusion etched on his face was expected, but I pulled away regardless.

"Just… stay away, okay?" I asked, walking to the door, unlocking it, and rushing down the corridor before he had a moment to catch me.

Again, a huge thanks to Paisley2, BeckyLynch'sTheme, LatinaWWEFan, sebastianm101, Debwood-1999, Tantoune, Lilygirl95, MsConCon and Dutchangel1979 for their lovely reviews.

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