A/N: Gah, shout out again to my amazing reviewers. You guys are my inspiration. :) I meant to update sooner, but alas, I worked literally every day last week. Then I get home, and I just wanna go to bed. :( But, here I am. Things are about to get shaken up a little...so let me know the feels you feel!

"AAAAAAAAAYJAAAAAAAY!"

Whipping around upon hearing her name called as soon as she opened the heavy doors of the training facility, the familiar bubbly young girl came bounding towards her. Bayley wore galaxy-printed athletic tights and a plain fitted t-shirt, and as usual, she looked cute as hell.

AJ readjusted the strap of her duffel bag, giving her old friend a weird, awkward hug. She loved working with Bayley, in fact, the younger woman reminded AJ so very much of herself when she'd first started. After she'd left the company, she'd given Bayley epic advice..."Never lose your positive vibes." And, of course, she hadn't; she was the current NXT Women's champ, having no problem working alongside people like Eva Marie despite how much more advanced Bayley's in-ring work was.

"I'm so glad you're here," Bayley breathed. "I heard about why. Everyone's pretty much talking about it. Way to knock someone on their ass for breaking kayfabe."

AJ grinned, trying to mask the annoyed feeling she got that the NXT locker room had already been whispering about her. But she worked alongside some of the biggest gossips every day, eager to give up personal information about colleagues to TMZ or other journalists if it meant a little bit of extra cash in their pockets. That, and she was already a hot subject as it was.

She could only imagine the field day the locker room and the rest of the world would have if anyone had found out she was hanging around with scummy Rollins. While it was undeniably wonderful being with him in a very platonic, friend-zoned relationship, others always had to make spectacles of sightings. She could hardly handle her face all over the internet as it was.

That being said, she had ignored all ten of his texts since she'd left him sleeping in the hotel room. She'd gotten up before the alarm she'd set, carefully removing his muscled arm from around her torso and slipping from her spot in the bed. She'd been quiet, opting not to take a shower for fear of waking him. She knew she couldn't do a goodbye with him. AJ felt guilty for choosing not to, but she feared that if she had, she'd hand him a rope to climb over the wall. She needed everyone to keep their distances.

AJ glanced around nervously, surrounded by tons of unfamiliar faces. The women, aside from Bayley, that she'd been in the ring with before had all been pulled on the main show now. She saw Tyler Breeze float into the room, an air of arrogance about him as he pounded fists with a muscled, dark-skinned guy.

"She'll be the last to show, if you're looking for Eva," Bayley said, hushed. AJ suspected the coaches kept their ears open for bad-mouthing the red-haired woman. It was not kept quiet that she was a top priority for the NXT franchise.

"Of course she will," AJ said back through gritted teeth. She headed towards the women's showers and lockers, set in the back of the building. The opposite entrance showed the male stick-figure, and she could hear showers and laughing and hooting echoing from across the hall. Rolling her eyes, she walked through the women's side, passing by the cute little pink haired woman recently acquired by NXT known as Asuka.

She waved in AJ's direction, a sweet smile on her face as she spread IcyHot over her calves.

AJ waved back, slightly intimidated. Asuka was not only amazing in the ring, she was so good at being creepy. Used correctly in storylines, she could really strike gold with the WWE and NXT fans.

Quickly changing into her training gear, AJ pulled her dark hair into a long ponytail, anxious to get back in the ring. Even more anxious to quit thinking about Rollins, wishing she hadn't felt so at home in his arms...

Ugh. Puke. He is exactly the same as what I've left...and I have to remember that.

She heard a trainer's warning whistle, signaling the start in five minutes. Rushing back through the locker room, she rounded the corner and hit something, or somebody, rather; knocking her flat on her ass.

"Hey, now, no need to rush. It's only a warning," a tall, handsome man offered his hand down to her, a heavy accent dripping from each word. He had dark hair and was chiseled beyond belief; his abs showing through the thin cotton shirt he wore.

She took his hand, embarrassed at herself. He looked at her with interest as she wished she'd kept her hair down as means to hide the flush in her cheeks.

"I can't believe I'm actually meeting you," he spoke as she was on her feet, trying to avoid his eyes. "I was training in Japan when you'd left. It's a shame you did when you did. Even more a shame at what they've got to work with up there," it took her a minute to catch on, but he was referring to the main roster's divas.

He offered her a generous smile, extending his hand again. "Finn," he introduced himself. "I'm happy to be working with you, AJ." She accepted his hand, no need to introduce herself. The pair walked together towards the training ring, where a crowd of people already awaited their instructions for the day. Sara nodded her head towards AJ, and Jason Albert winked at her as she approached alongside the taller man. Because she didn't recognize many of the trainees waiting around, she found herself falling to the floor to take a seat on the floor next to Bayley and a blonde, who quickly introduced herself as Carmella. AJ breathed a sigh of relief that Cameron was nowhere to be seen.

But, then again, neither was Eva.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. We've got a lot of work to do today, so listen up!" Sara's shrill voice pierced the hot, sticky air. Jason took a place standing in the center of the ring next to the other trainer, clipboard in tow. "We've got a couple of new ideas we wanted to give a whirl. First off, we're going to break off into pairs of four. We've chosen your groups." A loud, cumulative groan bounced off the walls, and Jason waved away the whining. "We spent a lot of time divvying you guys up properly. This isn't a school science project, and you can't team up with your friends. We've set up six different workshops, each an hour long. Lunch is at noon, you have half an hour to eat and chat to your friends then."

A guy AJ recognized as Mojo Rawley called out to the trainer. "How'd you break off folks into teams?" he asked, concern spreading across his face.

Jason shrugged. "We put together individuals that we felt could really learn from one another. Where some people lack, we put them in a group with someone who is excelling in an area."

"Your teams are here, and also your workshop schedules will be printed on this clipboard. You've got five minutes to get together with your team," Sara piped up, pointing to the nicely typed itinerary. AJ already suspected she was put in the same group as Eva.

Just as she'd thought that, the metal doors clanged open, and the bright red hair was a sure sign that the diva finally decided to roll in. She had her sunglasses perched on the top of her head, cell phone clenched in her hand, and a bright red, sequinned tote bag slung over her shoulder. As much as AJ hated to admit it, Eva was gorgeous.

That didn't stop everyone else who was there from rolling their eyes, quietly murmuring to each other about her tardiness.

"Glad you decided to come to class, Eva," Sara said bitterly. "I'm not going through this again, so hopefully someone else can explain it to you."

"I'm sorry, I was in the middle of a conference call," Eva sheepishly apologized, rolling her eyes when nobody responded to her reasoning. Carmella patted a spot on the floor near AJ, who shot a look towards the blonde woman. Daggers shot straight out of her eyes, but Carmella didn't notice as Eva Marie tumbled down next to her.

Conference call or not, how disrespectful to put these people on hold just for yourself!

Jason gave a quick run-down of the different modules. There was strength training, character development, effective promo training, in-ring work, costume critique, and a team five-mile run. The more they talked, the more AJ hated her life and was prepared to beg Stephanie to give her a massive fine instead of this. But, she thought, maybe she could take something away from this that she so very much needed. While she thought she'd pretty much mastered each of the training modules years ago, she supposed a refresher might not be so bad. Maybe it would even give her some ideas to pitch to some of the creative writers down the road.

When they were dismissed, everyone crowded around that little clipboard to find out who they were stuck hanging out with for the day. As predicted, AJ was with Eva Marie, Finn Balor, and Apollo Crews. The giant man she'd seen earlier in the day pounding fists with Breeze was apparently Crews; the other two, she already knew. First up, the four had to do the fucking run.

Cool.

Making their way to the track outside, AJ tuned out Eva's whining. The boys were looking forward to getting this grueling task out of the way, talking excitedly about lunch already.

Looking up towards a small stand of bleacher seats, the WWE legend Sargent Slaughter stood at ease, very much in character. He wore a green army shirt, dark pants, a hat, and his aviator shades. Though his hair was mostly white, he was still intimidating as he'd been years ago.

"Ten, hut!" he called out, and the four of them stood in a line facing him.

"You four, you have quite a journey ahead of you," he said in classic Sarge voice. "This is not an ordinary run. You four will find a comfortable pace, and you will run together. You have to stop to breathe? You breathe together. No soldier will be left behind!"

"What if one of us isn't able to keep a comfortable pace, and we aren't able to finish within an hour?" Crews asked, and AJ knew he was referring to Eva. Sarge, however, looked as if the large man had grown an extra eye out of nowhere, surprised that he'd even ask such an appalling question.

"There is no room for failure, soldier!"

A few stretches later, the group started the run at a slow pace. AJ had to give slight credit to the redhead: even though her facial expressions proved she hated the task, she kept her mouth shut, no longer complaining that she was there, and not with her husband or training with Kendrick.

At least so far, she didn't feel the overwhelming urge to punch the other woman just as she had done to Nikki.

Seth had woken up to bare sheets on the other side of his hotel bed, noticing immediately that the familiar counteracting weight was no longer on the opposite side.

He had figured right away where she was, and it was exactly as he'd feared: she left, not offering so much as a goodbye. He supposed it was easier that way; he felt the same. Seth wasn't good at handling goodbyes, and especially the strange connection he'd felt as of late towards AJ made him sort of nervous. AJ had chosen to keep much of her thoughts to herself, including the weird status of their so-called "friendship." She didn't feel badly for leaving so abruptly. It was probably much easier for her to run away than to admit that she'd miss his company.

Not that that meant anything. They hadn't even had sexual tension while sleeping in the same bed, the thought of taking advantage of her delicate state not even crossing his mind during the past couple nights. Seth had come to realize that he definitely didn't deserve someone like her, given some of the sins he'd sinned. That, and he knew that she had been crushed by a cheating, lying, backstabbing douchebag...which she often quipped he was "exactly like him." No, she deserved the best, and as much as it pained him, it wasn't...couldn't...be him. He'd rather settle for friendship with her, as much as it sucked...

Though he still had to fight the urge to not think of her in such a way, Seth had repeatedly been telling himself that she was just another girl. He'd been in contact with thousands in his time, and AJ was just another blip on the radar. Nothing special.

Still, he couldn't help but be annoyed that she'd run out on him like that, not even offering a "thanks, I had fun" or a quickly written note. Nothing. Like the past couple days hadn't even happened at all. No matter; he knew that given the opportunity, Zahra would have interest in a quick rendezvous. Even though they could simply not work as a couple, she could at least fill the gaping hole he had in his heart for awhile. Suddenly angry at himself for quietly hoping that there could be any sort of potential between himself and AJ, he slid the screen to unlock his phone, opened his contacts, shooting Zahra a quick text.

Feeling guilty immediately, he decided to text AJ, hoping that they were still on speaking terms. He didn't think they weren't, but who knew? Girls were crazy.

She didn't respond.

Neither did Zahra.

Frustrated, Seth threw his phone across the bed, sliding from under the covers and muttering as he started up the hottest water he could handle in his shower.

Colt Cabana stood in the hallway, shaking his head disapprovingly at the stacked boxes.

"Man, this sure doesn't feel right," he muttered, Phil handing him the final box that he'd packed up full of AJ's things she'd left behind. Colt had done nothing but mention his annoyance regarding this situation since he'd heard about it, but Phil couldn't blame him. He'd found out that they'd split thanks to a TMZ article, later confirmed by PWI.

"AJ chose this," he said simply, refusing to feel badly for anyone involved, himself included. He hadn't been able to get hold of his ex-wife whatsoever, so until someone did, Colt had offered to put the boxes of her crap in the spare bedroom of his own home. Though Phil knew his old friend was supportive of each of them, he knew deep down that Colt had taken AJ's side of this spectacle.

He supposed that AJ had already gotten to chirping in his ear, but Colt said she hadn't. He claimed that he had been able to piece together the puzzle once she made her re-debut on Monday Night RAW, his suspicions confirmed when photos showed Phil playing grab-ass with his new girlfriend. Though he didn't know the whole story, it was clear that AJ had found out much earlier than anyone else, deciding to just leave without confronting Phil at all. AJ had disappeared the night after she must've found out. As much as Phil liked to wish she only knew that he had a bad attitude and she couldn't handle it anymore, he knew that she knew. She knew everything, including what the media didn't know yet.

"Love you like a bro, but that's bullshit and you know that. AJ was driven to run away, by you," Colt clicked his tongue, picking up one of the larger boxes of her collectible things.

Phil shrugged. "Dude, we just...weren't good anymore." That was true.

Colt grumbled, nearly knocking over the auburn-haired woman as she appeared next to him.

"I absolutely cannot wait to get the rest of this junk out of the way. I've got a few ideas for the paint," she tittered, and Colt rolled his eyes. She didn't notice. "Did I tell you how much I appreciate you? It's so hard to work around all this crap," she sputtered on, oblivious to the pissed glare he shot at her. She was too busy trying to create color schemes in her head to notice what was going on in the real world.

"Trust me, I'm not doing this for you," Colt responded. She ignored him, blathering on about possible themes to even acknowledge that he was still standing there, a box full of action figures in his arms. He hadn't done well at pretending to like Punk's new girl, either, even questioning her homewrecking status that the online world thrust upon her. Special thanks to those shithead journalists who didn't know when to call it quits...

..."That's why I can't wait to make this place look like a real house. Right now, it looks like a gamer's paradise. Ugh!" she was still going on, and Phil watched as Colt flashed another angry glance at his new girlfriend. She'd padded back downstairs, talking about making an appointment with the interior decorator.

"Because it was a gamer's paradise," Colt said quietly, dumbfounded.

Heading out the front door and down the winding driveway, Colt tossed the box into the back of his pick-up truck. Phi had followed him, a goofy grin spreading across his face. He held out his hand, expecting his friend to do some kind of bro-handshake.

Colt didn't oblige, instead sizing him up. "You know what I think about this, so don't try to bullshit me," he said in response to the attempted handshake. "I think you're making a huge mistake."

Phil grunted, looking down at his feet. "Great. But like I said, I wasn't happy anymore. So I figured out what it was that made me happy, and ran with it."

Now, Colt's face was red with rage, and he took a step towards his old friend. Inches apart, his eyes danced with the devil, ready to attack. "Yeah, because cheating on my beautiful wife would make me so fucking happy!" he growled, shaking his fist just a mere inch from Punk's nose. "Did you ever stop to think how that would make her feel? Did you think, just for a second, how awful it must feel to be thrown aside, and finding out your gut instinct was right all along? From someone you had told her all along to not worry about? I told myself right off the bat I wasn't going to take sides, but you're making it hard not to!"

The two were now nose to nose, waiting for the other to strike. Neither did, and yet neither moved.

"Phil? Did you remember to get Nutella from the store? I can't find it," his girlfriend called out the kitchen window, unable to see the buildup from her perch.

Still staring each other down, Colt's shoulders faltered first. Phil was at ease, dropping his fists that he didn't even realize he was holding up.

"I'd better go," Colt said grimly, his mouth pressed into a thin line.

"I think you should. Before she realizes I forgot the Nutella," Punk responded. Colt waved him off, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I've never wished bad upon you, brother, but I hope you get burned. And I hope AJ figures out what makes her truly happy. It's no wonder why it wasn't you." Colt quickly drew his truck keys from his jeans pocket, fuming to a point where if he didn't leave right away, he would actually test Punk's UFC skills. Slamming the driver's door shut, he barreled out of the driveway, the gravel spinning under his tires. Punk stood in the driveway, watching as he left. Watching as the little bits and pieces of AJ left his home, for good.

He had no regrets.

"Sometimes, sure it bothers me that people don't think I deserve to be here. And I guess I can't blame them for thinking so...but now, I'm working really hard to be someone in this company. I'm sick of hearing that I'm not cut out for this and that I'll never be good enough. My mindset, right now, is to prove them all wrong. Someday soon, I hope to have just as earth shattering of a match with Bayley for the title as Sasha had," Eva panted alongside AJ, finishing up on the final mile of their run. AJ still didn't have the urge to beat the holy hell out of the Total Divas star, and she was pleasantly surprised. Paige absolutely despised the woman, so by default, AJ expected to, too.

But she didn't really seem all that bad.

"I mean...I know how badly they would like me to succeed. I'm not stupid, I know why you're here..." she breathed, holding on to her sides. She slowed a little bit, and the other three group members did, too. AJ didn't know about Finn or Crews as they had barely spoken since the beginning, but personally, she was all for slowing their pace for a minute. Her legs felt like Jell-O, and she was sure that during the strength training, she was going to die.

"I'm here mostly because I decided to whack a Bella," she said quietly. "It's better than being jobless."

Eva giggled once. "I don't have an issue with Nikki...Brie is the anklebiter of the pair. Napoleon complex, I think," she smirked, making a gesture towards her boobs.

AJ was stunned at the reference. She didn't even know Eva Marie had a sense of humor to her, let alone a real brain underneath all that hair. The way she portrayed herself was beyond stupid; AJ didn't get that vibe at all. She figured that might be why Paige actually hated her: She played up to the cameras, acting stupid to gain viewership. Still, so far AJ hadn't found a reason to dislike her; she seemed genuine in what she wanted to do with her career, despite what the majority of the universe thought. She laughed at the comment, the four picking up the pace a little bit. Crews said something to Finn, and they picked up the pace even more.

"Fuck you guys," Eva Marie called, keeping up right behind them. "I haven't had someone treat me like a real human being since I met Carmella. So excuse me for trying to talk through this shitty run!"

She must have picked up on something that AJ hadn't. Eva's brows furrowed as she ran directly behind the men, making faces with each stride.

"You know, I actually am kind of glad to be here," AJ heard herself say. "With all the shit going on in my life, in addition to the drama of the main roster...the next few days might not be so bad."

"It's not exactly a break," Eva pointed out, holding on to her side again. "Sara is crazy and pushes all of us to the literal breaking point. In addition to her, I guess we've got a lot of extra people hanging around the training center for the next few days."

"People like who?"

"Well, Sergeant Slaughter, for one. But I've heard rumors of other legends leading these stupid-ass modules."

AJ's mind went awry, thinking of all the possibilities. She knew that six training courses between just the NXT trainers was near impossible, so it was actually very likely that there would be other appearances by legends and superstars alike.

Rounding the final lap of the track, AJ couldn't deny that she was ready to call it a day. Keeping in step with Eva, she reached across and squeezed the taller woman's shoulder, giving her a look of encouragement. While she'd started the day with a sour attitude, she started looking at things with a brighter sheen. This was not going to go as badly as she had expected.

"Ready? LET'S GOOOOO!" called Finn over his shoulder, making a fast break for the finish line. The WWE Legend stood there, holding his stopwatch. The four of them sprinted the last round, Eva deciding to race to join the two men just a few steps ahead. Not one to be shown up, AJ took a spot next to Finn. She slipped her hand in his, her other hand in Eva's. Eva got the memo and grasped Apollo's. The four of them all broke through the finish line, together.

"Now that's what I call a TEAM!" Sergeant Slaughter cheered, his hands in the air. "That's what I like to see!"

All four of them collapsed right away, catching their breath. Catching a few water bottles thrown their way, Finn distributed them, taking a heavy gulp from his own. AJ dumped part of hers on her hairline, relishing in the icy cold feeling.

"We could've gotten through a lot faster if we didn't have two Chatty Cathys on the team," Crews grumbled, but Finn elbowed him. "I don't think that's the point, man." he said in a hushed voice, glancing towards the WWE veteran to ensure he hadn't heard the rookie's whining. Luckily, it appeared that he hadn't. AJ thought about saying something, but decided that she shouldn't. Otherwise, it'd be a long day.

Finn winked at her, taking another quick drink from his bottle.

"Oh, Sethie, I'm so glad you decided to come around," Zahra cooed, opening the door to her large condo, allowing the superstar to come in. She wore a tiny black dress made of spandex, her large boobs pushed up to her chin. She had put on her full, made-up face. She kind of reminded Seth of a pornstar.

What am I doing here? Yeah, he knew he wanted to forget feelings altogether, and Zahra provided him just that. But when he'd pulled off the exit towards her home, he felt guilty all over again. He was supposed to be shooting a promo in just a few hours, and if he didn't time himself perfectly, he'd look like a jackass walking in late to the taping...

He peeked around; she'd re-decorated a little since he'd been there last. It appeared just as a Better Homes and Living magazine article; not one cushion morphed. He found himself hoping she still had the same bed.

"Something like that," he said coldly, offering her a side-hug. She brushed her hands along his muscles, admiring his rock-hard abs the most. Bringing her heavily made-up eyes to his, she kissed him in the corner of his mouth. Seth winced; He hated to be kissed. Especially Zahra, as she left lipstick on his mouth more often than not.

But, it made her happy. It was the least he could do if he was going to bend her over in every imaginable way in her very own bedroom.

"I thought you'd been reformed or something. Got me worried that you had a real girlfriend or something," she smirked. "But, I know that can't be possible. You and I are two peas in a pod, you know. We're not good for anybody. Not good for relationships, or the stuff that goes along with that."

Well, at least she'd come around a little. At least she knew that anything more other than a good, old-fashioned pounding was unheard of.

Not wasting time, she unzipped his grey sweatshirt, placing gentle kisses against the black t-shirt underneath. She made her way up to his neck, then his ear. "I fucking want you," she said in a raspy voice. Seth wondered if she still smoked; she sounded like she'd upped herself to four packs a day.

His dick stood, quite attentive, against the harsh zipper. She slipped her hand under his shirt, pulling it off in a swift motion. She offered generous kisses, trailing straight down his stomach. He quickly dug in his back pocket, trying to find the little package he'd tossed in there before getting out of his rental car. Finding what he'd been looking for, he let her lead him to the bedroom he'd seen a couple times over. The curtains were drawn; it was dimly lit and she already had a candle burning on her nightstand.

He quickly tore open the package as she went to work on taking off his jeans. Before she kissed where he wanted her to the most, she brought her dark eyes up to his. He brushed stray black hair from her face as she looked at him, sexy as hell. She wore a tiny black g-string, revealing her less-than-covering lingerie just seconds ago.

She smashed her lips against his, and he allowed her familiar, warm tongue to slide into his mouth easily.

"Mmm..." she moaned against him, rubbing her groin against his. He was aching to get inside, ready to forget all about emotions and love and bullshit that went along with it.

"Hold on, sweetcheeks," he broke away from her. He realized what he'd said as she giggled, now laying on her back against her furry black comforter. She stuffed her hand underneath her panties, a dark look coming across her face. She watched him as he suited himself up for entrance, playing with the nub that she had underneath the lace.

AJ's disapproving eyes flashed in his head.

"Come here, Sethie," she flashed him the tiny little piercing she had on her clit, making Seth's dick stand hard as ever.

He forced the doe-brown eyes out of his mind, bending down to kiss the purple-ish lips that Zahra had spent probably an hour on.

He imagined AJ in her AMBROSE ASYLUM sweatpants, snuggling next to him as they watched The Matrix. She had put in zero effort to make him look at her. And when he looked at Zahra's dark eyes, flashing behind her fake eyelashes, Seth realized she wasn't the person that he wanted to be in bed with. She didn't have half the allure that AJ had. Yeah, she was smoking hot, but her personality was less than beautiful.

He recalled AJ asking him to hold her as she slept, and now he found himself wondering if he'd ever feel that way again. Close.

"What the fuck are you doing to me?" he said out loud, hating that he was thinking of his friend at all. It was the last thing he needed to think about right now...he was about to get laid, damn it.

Zahra's eyes knitted together, and she was clearly annoyed with his outburst. Her shaved, pierced parts didn't even sound like a good place to be right now...

"I'm sorry...I fucked up," he said, whipping off the latex. He pulled on his jeans in a rush, stuffing his feet into his sneakers on the way out. Zahra came after him as he had his hands on the doorknob, still wearing only her g-string. Her tits bounced as she screamed at him, and whatever she said, he couldn't make out. She was fucking psychotic; demanding that he never call her again and please pretend she didn't exist. He ran out her front door, and she stood there, still yelling through the screen, naked.

All Seth could think about was AJ Lee.