A/N: Okay, so I wrote the prologue and I couldn't stop. So many ideas, and I'm so excited. You are welcome.
Her flight was leaving Chicago in an hour.
She pulled her hood up on her black sweatshirt, trying to make herself look as inconspicuous as possible. If she was going to pull this off, she couldn't let anyone see her. Sure, Punk would figure out where she'd gone shortly...if everything went the way she'd hoped it would. But Lord knew that he wouldn't bother to show up at the one place he hated more than anywhere in the world.
And it wasn't like they'd welcome him into any WWE events, anyways.
She had called Stephanie McMahon in tears just a few days ago, and although Stephanie had sternly reminded that this was the choice that AJ made, she did offer her to come to the WWE headquarters.
"I just...don't have anywhere to go now. You know, with my parent's situations...and now..." AJ knew she wasn't making any sense anymore, but she was so very numb from all the pain right now.
"Well, come to Connecticut. Hunter and I will be there, and we'll talk over the possibility of a return for you," Stephanie had really stressed the word possibility, but AJ didn't care. It bought her time, and even if the WWE didn't want to take her back right now, it would at least give her a few more days to plan her next step. But, one thing was for sure: she saw what she saw, she knew what she knew, and now going home to Phil was not an option.
AJ never expected this for herself, and certainly not for her marriage. Blinking back tears, she logged on to Twitter, reading through some of the ridiculous posts her former colleagues busied themselves with. She paused as she read something that Paige had written; and suddenly, she really missed the newest anti-diva. Paige had extra rooms in the home she'd lived in with her fiance, so maybe that was an option...
Moving on, she saw Phil's post from a few days ago.
They say, third time's a charm.
At the time, AJ just looked past it. It didn't mean anything to her. But now she knew what, and whom, her husband was referring to. Her eyes were wide open now.
Seth Rollins was pissed.
As if things weren't hard enough for him lately, the stupid ass WWE creative team would make him job to Cena, yet again. Why? Because he was still being punished.
WWE was notorious for punishing talent when they messed up. One of the NXT divas, Paige was a prime example: she drops an f-bomb on television, she's taken out of the diva's title picture. She takes loss after loss for weeks on end to teach her a lesson: that your career will be buried unless you abide by our rules.
Even though when the initial news of his southern parts being strewn all over the internet broke, he was certain he'd be forced to drop the WWE championship immediately after winning it, but he got lucky. At least, at first. The booking for him was absolute shit; and the creative team knew it, too. They did everything they could to make Rollins look like a fluke. A fraud. A weak championship run.
Right when finally, things look to be at a turning point for him and he's booked to win the US title from Cena, his bedtime buddy gets her ass fired for posting neo-nazi bullshit all over her Instagram account.
So, now, because of his affiliation with Zahra, he would be booked to lose the title to John Cena after only holding on to it for a few measly weeks.
Seth tried to explain that his thing with Zahra was nothing more but a wham-bam-thank you ma'am ordeal, but Hunter wasn't buying it.
"You're lucky you even got to stay with the company, Seth. Consider this strike two," Hunter was beet red, his anger at a boiling point. "You need to remember, the company you keep has a direct impact on your character, and how people see you. And this...this is not good. Now, I suggest you leave my office. I have about a hundred phone calls to make, and one of them is to Vince reminding him of the potential you have. Hopefully, he agrees."
Seth apologized again, but Hunter feigned ignorance and opened the door of the makeshift office for that evening's Monday Night Raw, making it clear he wanted Seth out immediately.
Once he'd gotten to the hallway, Seth made a beeline for the weight room he'd seen when he entered the arena. If nothing else, at least he could sweat out some of his problems.
A few guys were already in there, none of which he particularly cared to speak to. Ever since he made a significant heel turn, his buddies from the Shield held a very real grudge against him. Even they were completely unaware of the turn of events at the time, and both still were pretty angry that Seth had neglected to mention he would be breaking away from their stable in order to gain popularity.
Now, he spent a good chunk of his time with Antonio Cesaro on the road, and often would travel alongside him and Kevin Owens. Even though they weren't necessarily a talkative bunch, he trusted them. They didn't judge him for the choices he made, and his ex, Leighla, was never mentioned due to an unspoken code of honor.
"I just like, am so annoyed that chicks like Eva can waltz on in here and be given opportunities. Don't you think it's time to put women over who actually paid their dues?" Seth couldn't help but roll his eyes as the cameras were on Nikki, Brie, and Paige. He was all for the reality era for the fans, but he couldn't stand most of the Total Divas cast. The few times he did watch it, it seemed to be drama, gossip, and whining.
What a great influence that had on the young fans that idolize them, he thought. And women like Nikki and Nattie should know better than to run their mouths about co-workers.
Choosing to ignore the women and the cameras, he put his headphones in...and began a nice, inclined run on a treadmill.
"Thank you for meeting me, Stephanie. I really appreciate it," AJ had changed back at the hotel room, now sporting black skinny jeans, crisp white Chuck Taylors, and a white suit jacket over a bright red t-shirt. For her, this was pretty dressed up. She wore no makeup, knowing fully well the bags under her eyes were very obvious. AJ didn't care.
"Yes, of course. You look...tired," Stephanie seemed to be inspecting her, and AJ knew she was seeing if she was still in shape to be back in the ring at all. "Come in, and sit down."
"I am tired. But not in the sense that I should take a nap," AJ stated quietly, feeling slightly intimidated by Stephanie as she followed her into her ridiculously large office. But, why? She'd stood up to the woman so many times before, knocking her down a few notches.
Phil, she supposed, had taken away the fire she once let burn. She felt weak, helpless and empty all at once.
"I see. Unfortunately, Hunter had a few problems to take care of at the arena tonight and wasn't able to fly out to make it. You know, your husband isn't the only superstar to act like a childish twit," she winked at AJ, knowing fully well that not only was she taking a jab at their marriage, but a jab at her as a person.
How professional, princess.
AJ bit her lip as she shrugged, taking the abuse. She folded her hands in front of her, waiting for the boss to continue.
Stephanie raised an eyebrow as she noticed a certain ring on a certain finger of AJ's was missing.
"That bad, huh?" her bitchface seemed to relax, and an honest look of sorrow crossed her normally stern features.
"It's...it's bad. He doesn't know I'm here, but he'll find out soon enough. I sent all the papers this morning..." AJ began to talk slowly as she could feel herself begin to get choked up. "I just don't have anywhere to go. And I want to come home," she reiterated her feelings from the prior conversation she'd had with the older woman, blinking back the tears that she still couldn't seem to contain.
"Oh, dear. Dear, oh dear. Well, as you know, we have quite a stuffed divas roster right now, what with the divas revolution. Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch have all made their way up from NXT. Paige still has quite a following, but we'd like to make her a heel in the near future...perhaps you could work with her after she establishes herself as a bad friend? Nothing better than two nutcases..." Stephanie took out a pen and paper, jotting her ideas on paper. "It's going to be tough to write you in during this epic time for women's wrestling, but I can see what we can do."
"Thank you," AJ nearly whispered, her voice hoarse and sticking to her throat.
"Now, I would like you to report to Sara. As much as I trust your wrestling skills, you've been out of action for awhile, so rather than throw you on Raw to show them you still have it, I just want you to brush up. I'd rather be safe than to risk an injury."
AJ nodded, happy that at the very least, she had a chance to prove herself worthy of being here again.
"And AJ? Please, don't make any more foolish decisions with your heart. Your brain knows better than you think." Stephanie stood up, brushing invisible specks of dirt off from her black trouser slacks.
"Thank you, again," AJ said meekly, and Stephanie handed her an itinerary for her training. AJ glanced at it, and a tiny flower of happiness blossomed in her stomach. If all went well, she would be back on televised events in just one month.
Now, all she had to do was keep her head on straight.