I can't do this anymore. Cut!
Dolph Ziggler frowns at the screen of his phone, raising an eyebrow at the short episode of Z!TLIS that Zack Ryder had uploaded on Saturday night, hyping it regularly since then. It's odd, but Zack had been acting more and more strange- even for him- with each passing day. No one else had seemed to notice or care, but between the new hairstyle and leaving his trademark gear that had just been Zack for the last four years behind, Dolph finds himself worrying just a little. Can't help but wonder what other things about his friend/rival will change...
His thoughts both derailed and confirmed as he enters the main locker room, so distracted that he'd forgotten briefly that it's not the locker room assigned to him any longer, the locker room set aside just for the World Champion down the hall and to the right, he comes to a stop and just stares. He'd heard about it and seen pictures, but to actually come face to face with Zack's abandoned headband and sunglasses leaves him feeling weird, unsettled. He picks them up and takes in how frayed the headband feels, the sunglasses also a little worn with age. He sighs, shaking his head. He hadn't talked with Zack since the night of his title victory and that had just been a quick congratulations, bro, hey thanks, type of conversation as he'd made it through the sea of colleagues waiting to acknowledge his accomplishment.
He regrets this now, knowing from Twitter and random locker room rumor mill that the Long Island native had been doing all of these weirdly out of character things lately. He'd just been so busy with his new title reign that he'd not had the time to find out more about it, the reasoning behind it, so he sits and waits for him, holding onto his things. At least this way none of the others will mess with them, just in case Zack should ever want to use them again.
He's still sitting there when Zack stumbles back into the room, brushing some of the longer strands of hair out of his eyes, blinking sweat away. It takes him a minute to realize Dolph is there, holding onto his things, and he frowns. "Hey?"
He jumps, looking up. "Oh. Hey." Realizing that he's still clinging to Zack's gear, he flushes slightly before standing. "Um, saw you left these behind so just thought I'd hang around, make sure no one messed with them until you returned."
Zack blinks a time or two, shaking his head. "Oh. Thanks, but you didn't have to. I don't... think they're going to get used much in the future." He takes them from him, stuffing them in his bag. Turning, he catches sight of the World title on the bench where Dolph had laid it to wait, and nods at it with a faint smile. "Congrats, again. I know I said so before, but... you know, when things aren't so busy with photo ops and all..."
"Thanks," he says, distracted by how callously, how easily Zack had just dropped his things. It feels like the end of an era, somehow, even as he looks his friend over and takes in his new hair style, his nearly Broski free gear, trying to reconcile it with the man he'd known for years by now.
After a few moments, Zack looks up. "Something wrong? You need something?"
Dolph hesitates, taking a breath. "No, not really..." He makes a face and sighs, still conflicted by the new Zack Ryder. "Just do me a favor?"
Zack shrugs, staring up at him curiously. "Like what?"
He hesitates for a moment. "Just, um. Don't change too much, yeah? I... mean, the old Zack was kind of obnoxious at times, but I liked him. Mostly." He glances once more at Zack's bag before leaving the room, deciding he'd embarrassed himself enough.
"Yeah, sure, bro," Zack says, utterly surprised, watching as his rival leaves the room quietly. "Huh," he mutters, pulling his headband out once more and running his fingers across the material thoughtfully.