Anyone still reading? Thoughts? Things you love? Things you hate?
Smackdown Live ends with AJ winning the Intercontinental Title. He and Ravyn celebrate on the road for the next few days, excited for their upcoming weekend off before the two week long Australia tour. AJ plans to stay with Ravyn at her apartment in Orlando so they can train at the Performance Center before the tour. They enjoy their two days off by mostly never leaving Ravyn's apartment except to train. They play Mario Kart non-stop and just take the time to enjoy being together. Time passes too quickly, soon they're back on the road. A house show in Washington on Monday and a live episode of Smackdown in Seattle.
Once at the arena they check to see if the card is up, just to discover that it isn't ready yet. Ravyn and JJ get changed and head to the ring to get in a quick workout with Becky and Alexa. The four girls work extra hard, excited about the upcoming tournament. Sweaty and high on adrenaline Ravyn and JJ make their way back after their ring session. Tyler is the first face they see upon getting backstage, and he looks concerned.
He shifts from foot to foot uncomfortably, "So.. The card is up." He pauses, unsure of how to break it to the girls. "You guys have a couple of segments... And a tag match... A mixed tag match."
Ravyn already knows she's not going to like the answer, but she asks anyways, "Who's my partner?"
"Baron Corbin," he tells them.
"What!? Why?!" JJ says in shock, knowing she'll be in the ring with him too.
Tyler shrugs unsure exactly, "It looks like they're working towards a triple threat feud for the Intercontinental title. AJ, Dolph and Corbin."
"And I get stuck with Corbin instead of AJ," Ravyn fumes. "Fucking brilliant."
"I'm sorry friend," JJ says sadly. "Hopefully it'll just be for tonight."
Frustrated, Ravyn turns away from her friends. "I'm going to go find out what the hell is going on," she calls over she shoulder as she goes to find Carrano. She's almost seeing red when she turns a corner to see Baron Corbin himself. When he sees her he grins smugly, " Hey Toots! Ready to get in the ring with me tonight?"
"Fuck of Corbin," she fumes.
"Well, you fuck you other tag partners," he snickers. "So is that an invitation?"
"Not even in your dreams would I sleep with you," she says dryly as she pushes past him on her way to find someone with authority.
She searches high and low for Mark Carrano before finding him outside in the production truck. When she asks about the angle she discovers that the pairing is Vince's idea, so there's no chance of changing it. Carrano assures her that the storyline will be a huge hit, furthering the story for both the Intercontinental and Women's titles. Not wanting to risk her or JJ's push she doesn't mention any of her issues with Corey or Corbin. Crestfallen, she leaves the production truck hoping to find AJ. The opening music for the show fills the arena as she wanders the halls. When she locates him she first notices that he's wearing her new shirt. A smile sneaks onto her face at the sight. She tells him about her partner for the evening and he sighs.
"I'm sorry babe," he frowns. "Vince probably just wants you two to team up together because your looks are sort of similar."
"You're probably right," she sighs wrapping her arms around his torso. "Better just make the best of it."
He hugs her tight before letting her go get ready for the show. She and JJ change, hit hair and makeup and meet up backstage for a quick segment. They film the girls fighting with each other backstage. Dolph comes in to separate them, struggling to hold them each at bay. Baron Corbin steps in front of Ravyn and stands nose to nose with Dolph while the girls shout at each other from behind the much larger men. The crew lets them know the cameras have cut and they'll be needed in gorilla soon. The commentary team announces the match to the audience at home.
JJ and Dolph head down to the ring first. Ravyn and Corbin step up to the curtain waiting for their turn to enter the arena. Corbin smirks at Ravyn, her music plays first and she steps out onto the stage to wait for him at the top of the ramp. Her music cuts out and his begins half a second later. He saunters out from behind the curtain and sidles up next to her. She poses with her good arm holding the Women's title high above her head. Corbin lets her stand there for a minute so he can leer at her. An egotistical smirk and he grabs her hand leading her down to the ring.
"Get your fucking hands off me asshole," Ravyn hisses through gritted teeth just loud enough so the cameras don't pick it up.
Corbin smiles, amused at her displeasure, "You never complained about your other tag partners touching you."
She rolls her eyes and jerks her arm free before rolling into the ring. The match itself is surprisingly quite good. Once the bell rings Corbin is pretty professional. Ravyn and JJ get a decent amount of time in the ring to shine and further their feud for Mania. Corbin gets the pin on Dolph with a handful of tights to earn them the victory. Ravyn and Corbin backpedal up the ramp away from the angry duo in the ring. Corbin slings an arm around her shoulders with a shit eating grin, knowing she won't push him away on camera. As soon as they're back through the curtain she shrugs his arm away and sneers.
"I said don't touch me," she spits just out of earshot from the producers in gorilla.
He holds up his hands and chuckles, "Whatever you say doll."
She glares at him as if to tell him that he's pushing it. He just cackles and leaves her standing there as he disappears down a hallway. Absentmindedly she rubs her bad shoulder while she waits for JJ and Dolph to come backstage. JJ checks on her friend and soon the three of them are back in the locker rooms getting ready to turn in for the night and get some sleep before their seven hour flight to Hawaii the next day.
Their plane touches down on the big island of Hawaii early the next afternoon. The Smackdown crew boards busses for the hotel in Kona where the Raw roster is already checked in. Since most of the roster has caught on to their relationship Ravyn sits next to AJ on the bus. They immerse themselves in a game of Mario Kart on their 3DS's while the bus takes forever to get through traffic. They eventually get checked into their room where they get their first chance to stretch out their travel sore muscles.
A short time later Ravyn and AJ set out on their own to take in some of Hawaii's splendor. He gets them a cab over to Volcano National Park where they get a hike in, enjoying the chance to get some exercise without weights or a ring. She suckers him into taking a bunch of selfies on their adventure, taking advantage of the beautiful scenery. He smiles when he sees her set her favorite one of the shots as the background of her phone. Once they're back to the hotel and cleaned up they grab a quick dinner with JJ and Dolph at a cute restaurant across the street. A couple of drinks in and they're having a great evening. The four of them cross the street back to their hotel where they hear familiar voices booming from the bar next to the lobby.
"I think I hear the Hoots!" Ravyn grins dragging AJ towards the bar.
He just rolls his eyes, "How can you NOT hear them?"
"Is that Gallows and Anderson?" Dolph chuckles as he and JJ follow them.
Ravyn nods excitedly as they enter the bar. The four friends don't take long to find the boisterous duo downing a collection of drinks. The Club is excited to see the group, especially their favorite 'bearded baby.' AJ ignores them and signals the bartender for a round of drinks. Dolph fits in almost perfectly with Gallows and Anderson as the only one of the group that's actually funny. It doesn't take long for the voices to start. Gallows' Stone Cold voice entertains most of the crew while AJ just rolls his eyes. The drinking continues and as AJ had predicted weeks ago Gallows jokingly implies that the champions should pick up the tab.
Ravyn just laughs at the ridiculousness. "Isn't Famous Hoot the one with the huge bank account?" She jokes.
Everyone laughs. "Well played Princess," Karl chuckles. The conversation stays light and fun. "I hope you've been staying away from all the paparazzi lately," he says to Ravyn. "AJ needs you around. He never puts up with us for this long. So don't go assaulting any photographers."
"It's not me you have to worry about," Ravyn giggles drunkly. "JJ is becoming the violent one. She went after Nikki on the last Divas trip."
JJ's stunned face is relieved when the guys start to laugh. "Skipped right past Beat up John Cena and went tight to Beat up Nikki Bella huh?" Gallows howls.
"She was being a bitch," JJ says sheepishly.
Karl laughs, "Isn't she always kind of a bitch?"
"Too sweet me on that!" Gallows booms.
The group exchange Too Sweets and giggle like school children. After some liquid encouragement JJ regales them with the story of her scuffle with Nikki. She has them on the edge of their seats as she explains the details of the altercation with Cena's girlfriend which eventually turns to conversation of the leaked photos. The photo with Ravyn and the redhead soon comes up.
"I mean... That picture was pretty convincing," Gallows admits.
Karl slaps the big man's chest. "You can't say that Hoot!" He hollers at him.
"What?" Gallows asks as if he'd done nothing wrong.
Ravyn blushes and sinks back into AJ's chest wishing she could disappear as JJ explains that she isn't in the photo. Sitting in a group of coworker's that have seen her sex tapes while sitting with her current boyfriend has her feeling like she wants to puke. He immediately picks up on her discomfort and finds a way to sneak them away from the bar while everyone else is distracted.