"I feel like I should have seen that coming," Ravyn groans.
"And they're definitely worse than the last one," AJ informs her.
"You watched them?!" She tries not to freak out.
He shakes his head, "I did not. I just skimmed the comments."
Relief washes over her, but it only lasts a moment. She rushes past the guys to the locker room where her phone is waiting. Twitter and Instagram notifications almost overwhelm her. Three more videos join the one she had found earlier. Not knowing where to begin she clicks the link for the first one she sees.
Shes gasps as the video opens up with Corey holding the camera in front of himself looking down at the naked back of a woman. She recognizes the tiny bathroom as her own. She quickly realizes that he's standing behind her, slamming himself into her with a fist twisted into her rainbow locks. Corey switches the cameras view from staring at her back to catching a glimpse of their faces in the mirror above the sink that he's got her bent over. She cringes as she hears Corey demand that she beg him to continue. She taps the X in the corner of her browser, feeling like she's seen enough of that video.
AJ slips inside the small room to find her staring sadly at her phone. He doesn't say anything, just sits down next to her and wraps an arm around her shoulders. Even though he's sitting close to her he makes absolutely no attempt to look at what's happening on the screen. She timidly clicks the next video, holding her breath without even noticing. This time it's her and Corey in the backseat of his car. Her cute black dress hiked up around her waist as he holds her hips grinding on top of him. The clip is short, but shows enough to keep the scavengers and trolls busy.
She steals a look at AJ, expecting him to be disgusted and uncomfortable. Instead, his face is soft and understanding. The arm around her squeezes her shoulders tight then he rubs her back gently. "I hope you know that none of this changes how I feel about you," he assures her. "The past is the past. Don't worry too much about it."
"I'm afraid that this is going to ruin my career," she tells him quietly. "I just won the title. And this could jeopardize everything I've worked so hard for."
He cautiously makes a suggestion, "You should talk to Mickie James. She's still working, and she came from an actual porn career. I don't think you'll have to worry about it."
She nods, thankful for his insight, "I have a feeling this will all get worse before it gets better."
"It'll be okay babe," he assures her.
She hopes more than anything that he's right. The last video is a short one, luckily. But it's just as revealing as the others. Another handheld angle from Corey. He's wearing the NXT tag team championship belt and nothing else. He films at a downward angle as Ravyn goes down on him. He plays with her hair, alternating between touching her gently then being rough and forceful until he finishes and the video ends.
A frustrated sigh and a flurry of activity near the door grab their attention. Mark Carrano pokes his head inside and asks Ravyn to follow him. She does without question and soon finds herself sitting in more damage control meetings with lawyers and social media legal experts. She spends the entire show with the legal team, doing everything she can to try and fix the situation. Finally, she emerges from the conference room shortly after AJ's main event match has ended. She finds him in his locker room getting out of the shower. An encouraging smile from him helps her feel a bit better... Until her phone buzzes. She's soon alerted that another video has surfaced.
"Oh for fucks sake!" She fumes. "I get it! People apparently like to see me naked. How many more times are we going to do this!?" She yells to no one in particular.
AJ snickers at her outburst.
"Don't you dare laugh at me!" She chastises him. A second later she finds herself laughing at the absurdity of the situation.
He half chuckles, "How many videos are there?"
She sighs, overwhelmed by the whole day, "Too many."
A few more seconds pass and she finds herself laughing again. AJ can't help but join in, happy to see her at least smiling. Even if it is just nervous laughter. She takes a minute to regain her composure before deciding to watch the newest video. Numb from the events of the day she almost doesn't even react as she watches. This video is longer than the rest. Corey has her on his bed restrained with various methods while he completely dominates her body with his own. She stares, barely even registering what's happening on the screen in front of her.
"Come on," AJ touches her hair gently. "Let's get to DC while there's no traffic." He takes the phone and closes the browser in an attempt to make things even slightly better.
Two and a half hours later they're checking into their hotel just after midnight. She quickly sheds everything but her underwear and crawls into the king sized bed. After tossing his jacket and shirt aside AJ joins her. She sighs contently as she snuggles up to him. Her head resting on his muscular chest. She breathes in deeply, inhaling his manly musky smell. For the first time since landing in Philadelphia she starts to relax. He runs his fingers through her hair, just enjoying their closeness. She's starts to nod off on his strong chest when she hears a phone buzz on the end table next to the bed.
"Yours or mine?" She asks through a yawn.
He cranes his neck to look at the devices, "Yours."
She groans, "Who is it?"
AJ picks up her phone to see who the text is from. "Seth Rollins?" He says skeptically.
A lump rises in her throat. For a moment she's pretty sure that she's actually going to have a panic attack. She has to remind herself to breathe. AJ, sensing her feeling of dread, offers her the phone. She takes is hesitantly, assuming a text from Seth at one in the morning can only mean one thing. Opening the message confirms it. Another video has leaked. She groans outwardly.
"Everything okay?" AJ knows that it isn't.
"Another leak," she tells him. "But this one... is more than just me and Corey..."
He's quiet for a second, "Rollins?"
She nods, barely visible in the dim light of her cell phone, "Yeah..."
He takes the phone from her hand and puts it back on the end table. Rolling onto his side to face her he pulls her close to him. "Let's not worry about any of that tonight. There's nothing we can do to change it right now. Whatever happens happens and it's not going to change anything between us," his voice soft and caring, exactly what she needs after the day she's had.
Overwhelmed and exhausted by everything that has happened in the last twenty four hours they're both asleep surprisingly quickly.
The next morning is a blur. A phone call saying that Vince will be at the DC house show to meet with Ravyn gets everything started off on a bad foot. AJ takes the morning to get in a workout at the gym. Not quite ready to deal with the general public and wanting to be early for the meeting, Ravyn takes a cab to the arena. She drops her gear into an empty locker room with AJ's name taped to the door and heads off to get the lay of the land. She's relieved to see Tyler and Dango arrive as she locates Vince's office. She nervously does a walk by, thankful to see that it's empty. She stops to grab a bottle of water at catering and decides to go find Mark Carrano. As she rounds a corner she's stopped in her tracks by the sight of Seth Rollins. He's leaning awkwardly on a pair of metal crutches and staring into his phone screen. He looks up from the device and shoots her an apologetic smile.
She decides to grab the bull by the horns, "I guess you're here to meet with Vince too."
"I am," he nods. There's an uneasy silence as the two of them try to find something to say. He finally speaks after a few moments that feel like eons. "I'm really sorry all of this is happening. I never..."
She cuts him off, "Don't apologize. We were all in the video. We knew what could happen. We just didn't know where we would be if it did."
"We were drunk," he reasons. "We never expected it to go viral. I never even expected for anyone to see it besides us."
"Well, it's out there now," Ravyn shrugs. "Nothing we can do about it now but wait and see if it destroys our careers."
Seth sighs guiltily, "You'll be okay."
She puts a hand on his arm to let him know that she harbors no hard feelings. Neither one says anything more. Ravyn continues down the hallway killing time before their meeting. A text from Carrano pops up on her phone letting her know that Vince is ready. Not wanting to keep him waiting she hustles back to where his office is set up. She steps inside and shakes Vince's hand, he motions for her to take a seat. Seth is right behind her doing his best with his bad knee. He takes a seat next to her near the center of Vince's desk. Hunter and Carrano enter the room behind Seth sitting at two of the many chairs opposite Vince. Mere seconds later Corey steps through the doorway in a handsome dark grey suit. He smiles and shakes the hand of the higher ups before taking a seat on the far side of Seth.
The entire meeting is uncomfortable. Having her bosses sitting in the same room as two coworkers that she knows they've seen her sleep with on video has Ravyn an emotional mess. Luckily, for the three of them, Vince assures everyone that none of them are in any real trouble. Leaks happen unfortunately. Vince advises them to be more careful of where they save their private photos. Seth being hurt and Corey really only being on commentary have no real repercussions. While Ravyn is informed that they're going to keep her off of TV and live shows for a few weeks to avoid any potentially over enthusiastic crowds. The meeting ends fairly quickly, leaving the three of them free to hang out backstage for the rest of the day. Seth hobbled out on his crutches to go meet up with Dean and Renee.
Ravyn escapes the office as Corey stays to speak with Vince about some new commentary ideas. She wanders the halls head down staring at her phone. She texts AJ and Tyler to update them on the situation. Terrified that her coworkers will all hate her she avoids the more populated backstage areas. Lost deep in the process of texting and walking she comes to a quick halt as she almost bumps into someone. Goosebumps prickle her flesh. Before she can even look up she knows that it's Corey. His menacing smirk confirms her fears when she finally raises her head.
"The game has changed a bit now that the whole world knows just how great we were together," he laughs. Frozen in place she can't seem to escape the encounter. "I'd forgotten just how much fun I had sharing you with Seth," he smiles. "Maybe your boyfriend would be into that. If not we could always invite JJ to join us. Both of the hobbitses at the same time would be precious." Without thinking she hauls off and slaps him. The sound echoes down the concrete corridors. Instead of getting angry like she expects he just cackles. "You know you'll come crawling back to me eventually," he says cockily. "You can't handle sex with feelings. That cold heart of yours needs the kind of emotionless fucking I gave you."
"Fuck you Corey," she spits. "I know you're behind this whole leak somehow. And if this was your pathetic way to remind me of our relationship... All you've done is make me remember what a piece of shit you are.
Corey chuckles, unfazed by her retort, "Oh I can't wait to get you back in my bed. You were always the most fun when you were all worked up like this."
Seething with rage she pushes past him and heads to AJ's locker room.