Welcome back, friends! So happy to see that I have gained a few new readers. For those that have asked, yes, it will probs eventually turn into an established Seth/AJ story. I'm really trying to make Seth work for the girl, even though he doesn't know he wants her yet...lol. And I write Zahra exactly as I envision her to be; nasty, rude, and prying...so that's why she hasn't completely fallen off the face of the earth yet. Just another roadblock for our two favorites, don't ya think?
As always, I love to read your reviews. Don't forget, even as a guest, you're welcome to let me know what ya think! And, I've been toying with the idea of updating my other stories...so holla if you are interested, right now I just focus on this one. I 'spose I could get into the groove of writing some more.
"AJ, we really gotta talk about those sweats," Seth slid into the guest bed with her, where she half-watched Aqua Teen Hunger Force. She had nearly been asleep, so the sudden weight shifting on the mattress nearly made her jump out of her skin. He pulled at the pant leg that read AMBROSE down the side, and she swatted his hand away, still startled that he was thisclose to her.
And, after the weird way he ditched out on her just a few hours ago.
"Yeah, well, they haven't come up with a new design for myself yet...and these were free," she said sleepily, stretching her arms over her head before turning on her side to look at Seth. He was watching her intently, his eyes locked on hers as though he was anticipating her to look his way. She kind of liked the warmth he was emitting, so she scooted closer to him, close enough to smell him...she thought for a second about wrapping an arm around his shoulder, but it would likely be awkward, and her other arm would fall asleep. So, she tucked her head under his chin, and they lay that way for awhile.
"What are we doing, AJ?"
Her heart took a large leap, hoping he didn't mean what she thought he meant. She pulled back to look at him, not wanting to ruin the comfort she'd fallen into but also not wanting to annoy him.
"You tell me."
Seth opened his mouth to say something, his eyes dark and mysterious. She thought he would have an angry expression etched into his facial features, but she was greeted with a look of...solitude and admiration, perhaps.
AJ almost thought he was going to admit that this thing that they had going on with each other was actually much more, much deeper than they wanted to admit. Instead of words, however, was his cell phone, loudly singing just in time to ruin the moment.
He apologized quickly, pulling it from his pocket. This was another downside to the business-business calls happened often, and when you least expected them to. It often ruined plans and moments like these; something that Punk used to complain about quite often before she'd hung up her strapped Converse boots. But unfortunately, if you missed a call from one of the officers, you had plenty of grounds for being terminated.
So, Seth answered his phone. He was clearly frustrated, his teeth gritted as he answered quickly.
"Joey, what the fuck do you want?"
AJ sighed, swinging her legs around to the side of the bed before touching the cool, bare floor. Seth was in quick conversation, animatedly talking to, she presumed, Joey Mercury. Opting to find something more interesting to do, she grabbed a change of real clothes and pittered her way to the bathroom, deciding a shower might do her some good. Relax her a little bit. That was why she was here, wasn't it? At least in some way?
And to hang out with Seth, that annoying voice in the back of her head snickered. Okay, so that was true. But there was plenty of time for that.
Letting the hot water slap against her head, she turned over the question a million times in her mind. What were they doing? It felt like they could be...maybe...but the idea of falling for someone who had such similar characteristics was absolutely frightening. And Seth...he was so hot and cold with her, she could never figure out the way he felt about anything.
She grabbed the basic body wash that was stocked in the guest bedroom, using it in lieu of the normal pear apple she had left at home in Chicago. She bitterly wondered if Amy used it, or if she'd just tossed it in the garbage when she started moving her own shit in. Trying to block the anger out of her mind, she focused on lathering, allowing herself to take all the time in the world to lather up.
"Yeah, Joey, Kevin already shot me a text. No, I don't really want to look...I...yeah, I know that she wants to take me down with her, but that's not gonna happen...listen, just give our moderators a call to send a tweet on my behalf, I'm kind of busy here. You know, even the champion gets a few days off."
Seth was growing more and more irritated with his friend and on-screen sidekick. One of the social media moderators that WWE used had called Joey in a blaze of fury, demanding to know if he had to perform some more damage control on Seth's behalf. Seth normally didn't answer the tech geek's calls, as normally they were just confirmation of his whereabouts. Since the whole thing with Zahra and Leighla had gone awry and everyone saw him in the flesh, Seth stepped away largely from any type of tweeting or Instagramming or Snapchatting.
Now, he just paid the guy to do most the dirty work for him. Unless he felt the need to say something himself, he kept quiet more often than not.
And now, it appeared, that Zahra had caught wind of him moving on with his life. Although Joey said she never once accused him of cheating or anything like that, she was working hard to slander his name through social media. He considered getting one of WWE's lawyers involved, but also knew that as demonic and psychotic as she was, she still had been working hard to get her career going. Having a lawsuit wouldn't be the best way for her to begin a new chapter of her life, and Seth had more of a heart than that.
Though she had made a remark to a fan that was coming to Seth's aid, stating that she believed he was seeing someone else in the company. She didn't name any names, so it was fair to think that though she suspected it, she hadn't been told who. Seth kind of hoped it stayed that way. Not only did AJ not need the crazy bitch blowing up her pages, he really didn't want her to ruin things for him, either. But his biggest goal was to protect AJ.
And maybe that meant they had to stop doing whatever it was they were doing...
A signal beeped into his ear, letting him know he had someone else trying to give him a call. Glancing at his phone, it was the moderator. What was his name again, anyway? Steve? Sven? Eh, it didn't really matter.
"Actually, the moderator is trying to get through now. I bet he's about having a heart attack so, Joey, I'm gonna take this to him. Hopefully he can figure out a respectable solution to make her shut her goddamn mouth."
"Thank God you're gonna answer him. I hate it when he comes to me if you don't answer," Joey said sarcastically. Seth rolled his eyes, knowing that that happened pretty much all the time, but not really giving a single fuck.
"Yep," Seth answered, and the raspy voice came through in a quick rush of panic.
"Seth, it's Samuel," said the dork. Samuel, Steve...close enough.
"I figured. Just got off the phone with Joey."
"Yeah, I just wanted to see if you wanted to respond to these defaming tweets from former NXT diva, Zahra, or place the opportunity over to my team."
Seth smirked at the man's words. He was beyond professional. Even though this dude probably knew every nitty gritty detail of his life, he never once made his own thoughts and opinions known. He didn't even acknowledge that Zahra was Seth's former girlfriend, or bed buddy. Just a former diva. Seth decided from now on, he was going to be nicer to this Samuel guy.
"So that's cool if you want to tweet on my behalf, but I know what I'd like it to say," Seth ran his hand through his hair, pieces of blond still hanging around his shoulders.
"Okay, as long as it follows the basic guidelines," Samuel agreed.
"I don't need you to say anything directly to her. People will speculate anyways, so let's just go very generic. 'Don't get mad. Don't get even. Just do better, much better. Become so engulfed in your own success that you forget it ever happened.'"
He heard the guy typing quickly, which meant that he had approved it.
"Awesome. Good words, Seth," he said. "Thank you for answering the phone."
"No problem. It's the least I can do after all the...past stuff. You know. I just hope this silences Zahra for awhile."
"If not, we might have to get others involved," Sam warned. He meant the WWE lawyers.
"Yeah, well, hopefully she fucks off. If she knows what's good for her, she will," Seth said matter-of-factly. Even though Sam was ever the professional and didn't make a remark or comment, Seth knew that he agreed with him. Bidding the moderator a quick goodbye, he wanted to focus his attention back on the woman that was apparently taking a shower just a few steps from where he stood.
But you need to keep her safe. Away from Zahra's wrath. And that means you can't have her.
God, feelings were such a horrible thing.
"I'm going shopping," AJ announced, standing in the doorway of the living space. She wore black jeans, a long gray cardigan over a striped tank top, and her thick-rimmed glasses. Seth would never admit it out loud, but this woman could wear a garbage bag and it'd still turn him on. She was beautiful, and she didn't even have to try.
"What for?"
AJ looked down at her clothes. "Well, to be honest, I don't have a lot to choose from. I left a lot behind...and I am getting kind of sick of doing laundry," she sheepishly admitted. "Don't get me wrong, I loathe shopping to the highest levels. But I need a few things. Also, I am running low on deodorant, and the body wash you have in the bathroom sucks."
Seth laughed, shaking his head before getting up from his spot on the black leather sofa. "How are you getting there?"
Tossing her hair, AJ gave him a million-dollar smile. "Well, I could take the bus. The routes are all online."
"Good try, but you'd have to walk about three miles to get to the nearest bus stop."
"I could do three miles," she said, very seriously.
"I know you could, but it's not a brilliant idea."
"Well, you have like, six cars in the garage. Care to take me to the nearest shopping center?"
A mall? With people? Who would take pictures of them?
He must've been biting his lip, because she gave him an inqusitive look.
"I just worry about people snapping pictures of us," he said. "I don't want any more problems than I've already created."
AJ shrugged. "So what if people do? Let 'em speculate. I don't want to put my life on hold because someone's feelings might get hurt that I'm hanging out with someone who has different parts than I do."
Seth laughed, her approach somewhat comforting. Though he really didn't want to see her dragged into any mess, she had a good point. Why put their own lives on hold so nobody's feelings got hurt? As far as he knew, Leighla didn't care about Seth's feelings when she'd leaked his private photos. And clearly, Zahra didn't care about his feelings. Same would be said on AJ's behalf. So why try to hide them hanging out? Speculation or not, they were simply friends. And people would learn to accept it sooner or later.
Right?
"Fine," Seth agreed. "As long as we aren't going a thousand places. And I'm not helping you pick out clothes."
"Not even new underwear?" AJ batted her long lashes at the man, who nearly spat out the water he'd just taken a sip from. "I'm just kidding! Cool your jets, buddy," she gave him a playful punch. Though he couldn't help but wonder exactly what she had hiding under her denim...
Knock it off. We're only friends.
Paige rolled her eyes as she read the moderated Twitter post from Rollins' account. Go figure he'd be involved in some new drama with that crazy, untalented pile of garbage. This was exactly why she didn't want AJ to get involved with him.
Even while she was helping out in NXT, Paige never liked Zahra Schreiber. In addition to being very mediocre in the ring, there simply wasn't much to like about her. She was catty, rude, and clearly there to hook up with the guys. She trapped Seth quickly with her exotic, sultry looks and smooth talking. Probably didn't hurt that she wasn't quiet about putting out, if it meant there might be something in it for her.
Closing out of the Twitter application of her phone, Paige began to read an article about Bret Hart on one of her favorite gossip and rumor sites, Ringside News. Looking at the words but not actually reading, her eyes wandered to an article that was posted today. It was a picture of Seth Rollins, a giant smile on his face, looking to the side. The caption read, Love Bites?
Giving in to her curiosity, Paige tapped her finger on the link. Ooh, this looked like it was going to be juicy.
WWE Champion Seth Rollins sure has had a hard time when it comes to his love life.
While it's obvious that he has managed to be successful in capturing and defending the heavyweight belt, he seems to run into roadblocks and crash courses alike with his girlfriends. Following his very public social media scandal, former fiancee Leighla Schultz revealed that despite trying to work out their problems, they broke off their engagement. Schultz revealed that, to her knowledge, Rollins was now in a relationship with NXT rookie, Zahra Schreiber. The very same woman he had an alleged affair with.
However, it has been confirmed today that there is serious bad blood between Rollins and Schreiber, leading our team to believe that without a doubt, they have ended their short, strange relationship. Click to the Twitter link to see the tensions flare up between these two former lovers.
Rollins has been very camera-shy for a few months now, being careful where he goes. However, a fan submitted photo from early this afternoon gives insight into exactly what-or who-Seth has been spending all of his time on.
Though we're not entirely sure of the hooded female accompanying him to the shopping center, it has been suggested that the anonymous woman may be AJ Lee, who divorced former WWE superstar, Phil "CM Punk" Brooks, a few months ago.
Paige's jaw literally dropped. That wasn't AJ, was it? No. Not with Rollins. It couldn't be-she said she was heading home...
But as she looked at the grainy, cell-phone photo, she saw a bogus-ass smile on Seth's face as he had his hand on the lower back of a woman's black jacket. Beneath it was the hem of a gray sweater. The woman wore her black hood up over her head, keeping her face down and away from the camera.
Almost passing it off as another one of Seth's playthings, her eyes zoomed in on the visible front pocket of the woman's black denim jeans. A tiny, embroidered bird was on the coin pocket, the logo of the company Hollister.
Which was basically the only kind of jeans AJ wore. Ever.
Her heart sank. This poor girl was setting herself up for heartbreak! Annoyed that her friend was with this dude and not with her family and even more annoyed that she lied about it, Paige called her immediately. For fuck's sake! Even if it wasn't a "confirmed" photo of the diva, the article still namedropped her like assholes.
That meant that in just a few hours, AJ would be the target for this wackjob of a woman, Zahra. And by the way she sank her claws into Rollins was proof that she'd do anything to rip AJ to shreds, too...
"Hey, this AJ! Sorry I'm not able to get your call. Feel free to leave a message!"
Rolling her eyes as she heard AJ's chipper voice, she cleared her throat when the tone sounded to leave a voicemail.
"My darling crumpet. It's really too bad that you aren't answering your calls...I mean, after all, I know you're awfully busy there in Jersey. But hey, funny thing happened today. I just came across this great picture online of Seth Rollins while he was out and about in Iowa...even funnier, he was with some girl. The funniest part? He was with you! So, I've got to know how you were able to be in two places at once. Because I know you wouldn't lie to the Freak to your Geek. Call me back and explain yourself, or I'm probably going to whoop your ass."
Hanging up her phone, she decided she had to put an end to this. So, she sent Kevin Owens a quick text, asking him why her friend was out shopping with his shady friend.
Because like hell if she was gonna have to mop up any more tears.
"Thank you for taking me out for some stuff, Seth," AJ gave the man a quick, awkward hug as they re-entered his home. "It was really nice to spend time not working or sleeping. Plus, shopping with you wasn't half bad."
Seth smirked. "I'm glad we went, too. I'm really sorry for being worried about other people and all...you know, seeing us together. Worrying about what they might think and all."
"Seth," she put her hands on her hips, "I don't need to explain what we are, to anyone. And neither do you."
"I just don't want you to get caught in crossfire. I don't want to see you get hurt."
AJ clicked her tongue. "The best way to not get your feelings hurt is to not have any."
Seth grew quiet. So quiet, in fact, that she could hear the fan whirring in the other room. She knew she had struck a nerve with him. But what did it matter? She tried to tell him how she felt weeks ago, while staying in a hotel room with Bayley and Carmella. Seth had played it off like the stupid idiot that he was, and made it very clear that the feelings weren't mutual.
"I see," Seth said finally.
"I've gotta go check my phone," she said slyly, now realizing his feelings were hurt. Well, it served him right. Seth Rollins was more than used to having women swoon at his feet...so that was probably why he was acting so strangely. Because for once, one of them refused to do it.
She left Seth standing as she fled to grab her phone, which she'd left laying on the guest bed by accident. She silently prayed that she didn't have any missed calls from the boss...after all, that would land her into more trouble.
Instead, she had a text message from Finn, which made her heart do a flip, and a missed call from Paige...who had left a voicemail? That was unusual for the raven-haired diva. Quickly dialing her numerical passcode, AJ heard something quite disheartening-she was busted.
Her little shopping trip was already made public, and her closest friend had caught wind of it.
And Paige was bitter.