Disclaimer: I do not own Christian/Jay Reso (although I really wish I did) and the WWE rightfully belongs to Vincent Kennedy McMahon. I only own Dawn Iris Ricard/Scarlet, Pearl Armstrong, any other original characters and this story's plot. I'll make you feel so damn unpretty if you steal my story.
May 22, 2011 - Sunday
Over The Limit 2011 at KeyArena in Seattle, Washington
Dawn had been weak all day because of the butterflies that she had feeling fluttering uncontrollably in her stomach. When she arrived at the venue of the pay-per-view, her heart started beating rapidly like it wanted to pop out of her chest at any second. The only possible explanation for the way she's feeling right now is because she's nervous about her lumberjill match for the Divas title against Melina tonight. Even though she already knows that she'll retain her title, the beating that she will have to endure to keep the title is what she's nervous about.
Since she was already geared up for her match, Dawn was just sitting on the couch inside her dressing room while the dark match was going on. Feeling bored, Dawn decided to go to John Cena's dressing room. She knew that he was probably busy preparing for his 'I Quit match' tonight with The Miz, but she couldn't think of anyone else that could help her calm her nerves down. She could go to Jay, but she didn't want to because if she does, she'll only feel more nervous than she already is.
As she walked down the hallway, Dawn remembered the events that happened the past few days before Over The Limit. She attended a press conference for Over The Limit on Wednesday with the current titleholders in the WWE. Out of all the champions, she was the third most interviewed; John Cena being the first and Jay being the second. Most of the questions she received was about Christian. Even though she had already been taken out of Christian's storyline with The Corre, it seems that people are still keeping an eye on her on whether or not she'll be in the ongoing feud again. Since she didn't really know if she'll be brought back by Vince and the creative team in the angle, she told them an honest answer that she didn't know, but hopefully she will be in it again. Other than being asked about her angle with Christian and The Corre, the press asked her what she'll be doing this year now that she's the new Divas Champion. Dawn told them that she'll continue doing what she does best, and keep on bringing the WWE Universe great entertainment. The press conference went great. She posed for the photographers with the other champions, and interacted with the fans who were outside the venue of the press conference, wanting to meet her and the others.
The next day, she received a call from Vince early in the morning telling her to come to his office for a private meeting with him and the senior vice president of the creative team. Vince told her that since the ratings of SmackDown had drastically changed when she was brought back to Raw, he decided to bring her back in the feud between Christian and the Corre. Since she is the reigning Divas champion, she is allowed to be on both shows. The senior vice president of the creative team told her that she will come out during Christian and Wade Barrett's match, distracting both men; especially Wade, since she will have to wear a Christian shirt. At first, Dawn felt nervous about it and asked the two if it was a good idea, but they assured her that there was nothing to be nervous about; it'll make people want to watch SmackDown again, and it will give her, Jay, Stu, Heath, and Paul the exposure that they need - Vince thinks it's a good idea; a very good one actually. Dawn spent Friday and Saturday preparing for Over The Limit.
When Dawn found John's dressing room, she knocked three times. She rocked her feet forward and backward and about two minutes later, a topless and sweaty John Cena opened the door. Dawn's eyes widened and tried to avoid looking at his naked torso, even though she's already used in seeing him without his shirt on. She had already touched those tight muscles and perfectly-toned abs of his, but for some reason, it always made her feel weird whenever he's shirtless and he's not in the ring. His sweaty body didn't really made Dawn feel any better and now she was wondering why she decided to even go to his dressing room in the first place.
"Dawn," John said, wiping his wet forehead with the dark green towel on top of his left shoulder. "You're here."
"Oh no, I'm not here - you're seeing a ghost," Dawn rolled her eyes as a smirk played on her lips. "Captain Obvious, you're being quite obvious tonight."
John chuckled. "And you're being really sarcastic, General Sarcasm."
The two of them laughed. John then stepped away from the door to let Dawn in. As she walked towards the couch, John checked her out. He knew it was wrong, but he'll just never get used or tired of seeing Dawn in her skimpy in-ring attire. And with her gorgeous body, how can he not look at her? John could still remember clearly how her hourglass body figure looks when bare, and he would never, ever forget it.
When Dawn sat on the couch, John finished wiping the sweat off his face and body. He put on one of his shirts and sat beside her.
"What brings you here, carrot cake?" John asked her as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
Dawn smirked at the nickname, but then she sighed and looked down. "I'm nervous about my lumberjill match tonight, sugar puff."
John scooted closer to her and she put her head on top of his shoulder. "Well, I was feeling the same way when I had to defend the WWE title for the first time. Considering that this is your first title defense in a pay-per-view, it's natural to feel nervous, Dee. Just don't let the feeling get the best of you; you are a tremendous fighter, you'll do just fine."
Dawn looked up at him and he smiled. She smiled as well when she saw his cute dimples. Looking at him, it just made her forget why she was nervous in the first place. "Thanks sugar puff."
"You're welcome carrot cake." John replied as he kissed her forehead.
They stared into each other's eyes before Dawn stood up. John stood up too, and followed Dawn as she walked towards the door. When she was just a few inches away from grabbing the doorknob, Dawn turned around and faced John.
"Sorry if I disturbed you, John." Dawn said, sighing as she ran a hand through her red hair.
John raised an eyebrow at her. "Disturbed me? You could never disturb me."
Dawn felt her cheeks warming up. She bit her lower lip. John noticed how her face went red, and he was glad to know that he still affected her in some way. "Well, I guess I'll leave you alone now."
"Okay. Good luck with your match, Dee." John said, winking at her.
Dawn smirked and nodded. "Thanks John. Good luck to you too."
And with that, Dawn opened the door and stepped out of John's dressing room.
As Dawn walked down the hallway, she heard someone wolf-whistling at her. When she turned her head, she found Matt Cardona Jr. and Nick Nemeth, also known as Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler, looking at her with foolish grins on their faces. She didn't know which one of them wolf-whistled at her, and she certainly didn't want to know. Nick just stood there staring at her with a devious grin on his face, while Matt was pumping his fist. Dawn just rolled her eyes and blew a kiss to Matt. Well, she liked Matt better than Nick anyway. The flying kiss wiped the grin off Nick's face and made him feel extremely jealous. Dawn smirked as Matt tried to "catch" her kiss by reaching up before finally "grabbing" the flying kiss.
Dawn continued walking down the hall and a few seconds later, she was ambushed by her make-up artist and her hair stylist. They retouched her make-up and hairstyle, before finally giving her the Divas' title. They walked away and left Dawn standing in the hallway. She looked at the Divas Champion belt; it shined under the fluorescent light, and she ran her fingers over her name just below the butterfly. She smirked and took a deep breath. She put the belt gently on her right shoulder, and started walking again.
It was now time for Scarlet and Melina's lumberjill title match. The Divas from both Raw and SmackDown surrounded the ring, with the face Divas taking up the top and bottom side of the ring, while the heel Divas occupied the left and right side of the ring. The referee and Justin Roberts stood inside the ring.
"The following is a lumberjill match, and it is for the WWE Divas Championship."
Justin Roberts said, and Melina's entrance song started to play as the crew rolled out the red carpet. Melina came out, posing for the photographers as she walked down the ramp.
"Introducing first the challenger, from Los Angeles, California - Melina!"
The crowd booed her, but when she did her split entrance, she received a few cheers from some of the guys in the audience. The heel Divas clapped for her, but the face Divas just paid no attention to her and waited for Scarlet's arrival.
A minute later, Gasoline by Porcelain And The Tramps started playing. Scarlet came out, wearing her black and scarlet in-ring attire with a matching glittery scarlet leather coat. She raised the Divas title and red fireworks lit up the side of the titantron. The crowd cheered Scarlet on, and so did the face Divas.
"And from Phoenix, Arizona, she is the WWE Divas Champion - Scarlet!"
Scarlet strutted down the ramp like a boss while giving some of her fans a high-five. When she got inside the ring, she climbed the turnbuckle and raise the Divas title for the second time and with more pride this time. She jumped off the turnbuckle and then gave her belt to the referee. Scarlet took her coat off and tossed it outside of the ring.
Melina and Scarlet walked to the middle of the ring, facing each other. The referee stood between them, and raised the Divas title. He then decided to ring the bell and officially start the match. Melina slapped Scarlet, in which Scarlet responded with a kick to her chin. But before her left foot could knock Melina down, Melina caught her foot and attempted to give her an ankle lock. Scarlet then lifted her right leg up and kicked Melina to the side of her head, in which Melina ended up being knocked down beside the ropes. Melina held on to the ropes and slowly rose up to her feet. Scarlet approached Melina and gave her the clothesline, sending her out of the ring. The face Divas stared at Melina for a second before helping her get back inside the ring. When she was inside the ring, Scarlet pinned her, but Melina kicked out at two. Melina crawled to the top corner of the ring, while Scarlet stood on the opposite corner. Scarlet ran towards Melina, and gave her the Bronco buster. The crowd went wild, and Scarlet smirked with satisfaction.
Ten minutes later, Melina was dominating Scarlet. Melina had Scarlet in a straight jacket arm lock, giving Scarlet a ton of pain. When Scarlet refused to tap out for the third time, Melina slammed her face onto the ring canvas. When Scarlet was up, Melina was about to give her the clothesline but Scarlet backbended. When Melina looked behind her, Scarlet gave her the Whip of Fire. And with that, Scarlet pinned Melina. The bell rang, and the referee raised Scarlet's arm up. Justin Roberts declared her the winner, and still the WWE Divas Champion. The face Divas got inside the ring to congratulate her while Melina rolled out of the ring. The heel Divas helped Melina walk away from the ring, while looking at Scarlet and the rest of the face Divas as they stood in the ring. Scarlet was feeling good and confident, and hopefully, that match proved her critics wrong about her being "weak" and "talentless".
Dawn was back in her dressing room, trying to take a rest even though her make-up artist and hair stylist were retouching her make-up and hairstyle. The Divas belt was on top of the vanity table. She stared at it and smiled. After ten minutes, her make-up artist and her hair stylist left. She got up from the vanity chair and picked up the belt from the table, and put it on top of her right shoulder. She looked at herself in the mirror - she looked good with Christian's shirt on. It showed off her perfect stomach, since she decided to tie it up. She wore a pair of black skinny jeans, and on her feet, she wore black, knee-high leather boots. She smirked. Not only she would distract Stu, but she would also going to rock Jay's world. But then, she sighed. Stu and Jay were both her friends, and she just hoped that her little appearance in their match later tonight wouldn't backfire.
Wade Barrett had Christian set up for The Wasteland, but he dropped Christian on the mat when he saw a familiar-looking red-head standing on the titantron.
"It's the WWE Divas Champion! What's Scarlet doing here?" Michael Cole said on commentary.
"And she's also wearing a Peep Show t-shirt!" Josh Matthews added.
"Showing a little support for Christian perhaps?" Booker T joined in.
"Probably, but she's distracting Wade right now." Jerry "The King" Lawler chimed in.
As the four continued to talk on commentary, Wade walked towards the ropes, looking at Scarlet. Stu almost broke out of character because he didn't really saw this coming, and it slightly broke his heart with seeing her wearing Christian's Peep Show t-shirt. He knew that she was in character, but it really affected him. He would've preferred it if she came out there wearing a Corre t-shirt, but he was sure that it will only happen in his dreams. As he continued to stare at Dawn - who was currently Scarlet right now - look at him with a playful smirk on her lips, Christian took this as advantage and rolled him up, and when Wade failed to kick out, he heard the bell ringing and the ring announcer declaring that Christian is still the World Heavyweight Champion. Wade felt anger and frustration creeping onto him, and he felt betrayed by Dawn. He confesses his love for her, and this is how she'll respond to it? Sure, she's in character right now and so was he. Maybe he's overthinking things, but how could he not?
And with that, he walked out of the ring. Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel were banned from coming out and staying at ringside, and that pissed him off even more. Before heading backstage, Stu looked at Dawn in the eye, shaking his head. The smirk on Dawn's lips disappeared when her eyes connected with Stu's, because she knew that had upset him.
But when Jay came to her, he hugged her, taking all of her confusion, guilt, and worry away. In a second, she was back to being Scarlet again. Christian smirked at her before facing the crowd and raising the World Heavyweight title up for everyone to see. Scarlet stood beside him and clapped. Christian then brought the belt down and put his arm around Scarlet and the two of them went to the backstage.
"Wow... just... wow." Jay said when they got inside his dressing room. He looked at her from her head to toe, and he absolutely approved of her outfit.
Dawn smirked as she untied the shirt, covering her bare stomach. "I could've told you and Stu that I was going to come out here, but Vince didn't want me to tell you two. He said if I didn't tell you, it'll look more believable."
"I'll say," Jay replied as he put down the heavy gold belt on the steel chair beside his bag. "I guess Vince and the creative team decided to bring you back in my storyline with The Corre."
Dawn nodded as she watched Jay wipe off his sweaty torso. She bit her lower lip. "Yeah."
Jay liked that Dawn is going to be involved with his storyline with The Corre again, but at the same time, he didn't like it, just because he didn't know what Vince and the creative had planned out for them. "That's great, I guess."
Dawn smirked. "Totally. And oh, I should get going now - I still need to talk to Stu. He looked so upset."
"Okay. You go talk to him, I bet he's upset all right with your sudden appearance in our match," Jay told her as he picked up his bag from the floor. "I'll call you later or something."
"Alright." Dawn nodded, and with that, she got out of his dressing room.
"Stu, I said I was sorry."
"I heard you the first time, Dee; you don't have to repeat yourself."
Dawn watched Stu move around the room as he gathered his things. Dawn just stood there motionless in the middle of the room as she tried to come up with something that'll make Stu feel better and break the deafening silence and awkward tension between them.
"Vince didn't want me to tell you, Jay, Heath, and Paul about my surprise appearance in the match. I didn't expected that it'll affect you so much." Dawn sighed.
Stu knew he couldn't stay mad at her. It wasn't like she wanted this to happen; it was all Vince and the creative team's idea. But... still, he couldn't help but feel angry. "You cost me the World Heavyweight title and broke my heart. I know you weren't the one who came up with it, but I'm absolutely shattered right now."
Dawn felt tears forming behind her eyes. "We're still friends... right?"
Stu took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. "I guess that's all we'll ever be, right?"
Dawn felt like a train ran over her. She wasn't sure how to reply to that. "Stu-"
Stu held up his hand to her face. "Dee, you don't have to answer that; I think I know what you'll say anyway. And oh, don't go worrying about me - it's not like I think about you constantly."
And with that, Stu looked at Dawn before walking away from her. Dawn followed him out of his dressing room, but she couldn't see where he went. She just sighed and decided to go back to her dressing room. As she walked, she thought about what happened - she knew Stu might be overreacting, but if that happened to her, she would be the same - probably even more dramatic than him. She broke the hearts of few men before, but when she accidentally broke Stu's heart, why did it affected her, too?
Heath Miller, Paul Lloyd Jr., and Stu Bennett were walking down the parking lot as Stu looked for their rental car. When he found it, he unlocked the car's doors and got inside the driver's seat. Heath decided to seat in the back while Paul took the passenger seat. Stu started the car, and drove out of the parking lot.
"I'm still surprised with what Dawn just did man! And even if she was wearing a Christian shirt, she looked hot." Heath said from the backseat. Stu rolled his eyes.
"And I think she did a great job with pulling that distraction off." Paul added, and when he saw Stu's knuckles turn white from gripping the wheel too hard, he swallowed and wish he could take back what he just said.
"And she did a great job of breaking my heart," Stu spoke, his eyes fixed on the road. "All hail the heartbreaker."
Paul and Heath looked at each other, and they agreed not to talk about Dawn and what happened tonight. They knew how much Stu loved Dawn, and even though that little stint of hers was all part of the job, it affected Stu pretty badly. Stu knew he had to try and be professional, but with his jealousy, to him, everything was just getting personal, and he blamed it on the creative team, and Vince.
Author's note: Took me a few days to finish writing this chapter, since I'm kinda suffering from writer's block right now, sorry! :( I'm not really sure if I like this chapter, what do you guys think? :x Anyway, thank you for all of the favorite author, favorite story, author alerts, story alerts, and reviews! You guys are awesome! :D
Songs I listened to while writing this:
All Hail The Heartbreaker - The Spill Canvas
Stand Here With Me - Creed
Breath - Breaking Benjamin
I Know You Know - Empires
Call That a Comeback - You Me At Six
Bloodstream - Stateless