A/N: Happy Valentine's Day, everybody! I've got a new chapter for you all, and it's a long one! I feel like the first few chapters have been moving rather slowly, but the pace is picking up now. Full steam ahead! I can't wait to read what you all think about it and thanks to those of you who have been following, favoriting, and reviewing this.

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Aidan stood outside the ring, elbows on the apron, her hands all but covering her eyes. She watched in horror as Johnny Curtis leapt from the top turnbuckle and connected with Dean in a vicious leg drop. Curtis pinned Dean for a three count and the match was over. For the third consecutive week, Dean had lost his match.

She would have felt bad for him if it hadn't been his own fault. In the first week, Dean had deliberately started an argument with Ted Dibiase which resulted in his first match. The match had been back and forth until out of the blue Dean had backed Ted into a corner and relentlessly beat on him until he was disqualified. In the second week, he'd been given a match against Ted's rookie, Brodus Clay. Even though his opponent was much larger in size, Dean had dominated him most of the match. Just when Aidan was sure he had it won, Dean inexplicably walked out of the ring and headed for the locker room, resulting in a count out. He'd explained in an interview later on that he'd grown bored and simply didn't care to finish the match. Aidan, of course, had been furious with him, which only seemed to be a source of great amusement to Dean. This latest lost had seemed deliberate as well. Dean had started off strong but midway through the match he'd all but given Johnny Curtis the upper hand. To everyone else it would look like a genuine loss, but Aidan saw it as a perpetuation of the losing streak that Dean had manufactured for himself.

He hadn't been doing well in the challenges either. So far he had not earned a single immunity point. The effort he was putting forward always seemed half-hearted. This was plainly evident when she saw the other rookies trying so hard to win, so hungry for a shot at a coveted WWE contract. The first elimination would be held in two weeks. The way it was going now, he was setting himself up to be the first to go.

After Johnny Curtis and R-Truth had finished their celebrations and exited the ring, Aidan slid under the ropes and knelt down next to Dean. He'd pulled himself into a seated position and was rubbing the back of his head distractedly. Aidan tried to pat him on the back but he shrugged her off. He rather abruptly rolled out of the ring and started up the ramp, leaving Aidan staring after him in confusion and embarrassment. She tried to ignore the jeering audience as she hurried to catch up with him.

She found him backstage slumped down against the wall. Aidan stood in front of him, her arms crossed, staring a hole into his forehead. He went on ignoring her for several minutes before he finally looked up at her. His fingers slid through his greasy dark blond hair combing back the disheveled strands that were covering his eyes.

"Are you going to stand there all night or are you going to say something?" he said, his voice low and gravelly.

"I'm waiting for you to explain yourself."

"Explain myself? I lost. You're the coach. You're supposed to be analyzing what went wrong."

She came down to his level, crouching in front of him. Her ice-blue eyes considered him carefully.

"I've analyzed the hell out of the last three weeks and the only thing I can see is that you're losing on purpose."

A huge grin split his lips.

"Oh, Sunshine. You caught me. I can't slip anything past you."

Aidan sighed in frustration.

"I've given up on trying to figure out why you do the things you do, so why don't you just save me the trouble and tell me what's going through your head. What do you hope to gain by losing? Are you trying to get eliminated?"

He looked at her evenly through his flat blue eyes.

"When I want to win, no one can stop me."

"So you're saying you don't care whether you win or lose."

He shrugged his shoulders with indifference.

"I've got nothing to fight for."

"A WWE contract is not a big enough prize? Those other guys would fight to the death for that chance."

"That's because those other guys are a bunch of losers who don't have any other way to get it."

She laughed incredulously.

"You really think you're something special, don't you? If that's the kind of attitude you're going to take you won't last long in this company."

She stood up and started off but she felt his fingers grip around her bare ankle. She looked back at him in anger but her expression softened when she caught sight of him. She'd expected to see that goofy grin on his lips but instead his eyes were glinting with sincerity.

"Do you want me to win?"

"Of course I want you to win."

The revelation slipped so easily out of her mouth it surprised her. He let go of her ankle and pulled himself off of the ground. Standing before her, he looked deep into her eyes, and when he spoke it was with a softness she never knew he was capable of.

"If you want me to win, I'll win for you."

She felt her heart quickening in her chest. There were actually butterflies in her stomach. It was something she'd never expected to feel for Dean Ambrose, and quite frankly, it pissed her off.

"Why win for me?" she said trying to keep the anger out of her voice.

A faint smile crossed his lips.

"Because one day, you won't look at me like I'm a monster anymore."

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The next week there was an immediate turn around. Dean was not scheduled for a match but he'd swept the challenge and won himself his first two immunity points. The real surprise came on elimination day. All six rookies were scheduled for matches, a final chance to prove that they were worthy of staying in the competition. Dean had the most to prove seeing as he was the only rookie so far that had not won a single match. His was the last match of the night, a rematch against Brodus Clay. Aidan sat at the top of the ramp with the other pros, observing the match with knots in her stomach.

Dean had started off strong, but early on he'd been thrown over the ropes and had landed hard on his right knee. He was clearly struggling to stay in the game and Brodus, who was obviously still sore over the beat down he'd received a few weeks back, was relentless in his efforts to keep Dean down. Aidan cringed when the three hundred pounder delivered a series of stomps to his bad knee. Dean let out an agonizing cry of pain, but he immediately got back up and hit Brodus with a running lariat. The force of the impact was actually enough to knock the big man down. Brodus was stirring, trying to get to his feet, when out of nowhere, Dean ran at him full force, his bad knee connecting with a sickening smack to the side of Brodus's head. He fell like a giant sack of potatoes. Dean dragged himself over the downed man's body, the ref made a three count, and the match was won. Aidan finally felt herself breath again.

The ref was tending to Dean, who had not risen since the bell had rung. He was still holding onto the bad knee that he had foolishly, yet successfully used to defeat Brodus Clay. Aidan abandoned her seat at the top of the ramp and walked toward the ring, concern in her eyes. He may have won the match but she hoped he hadn't severely injured himself in the process.

She slid into the ring and crawled over to him.

"Are you okay?"

He was out of breath when he spoke. The pain was obvious in his eyes, but he smiled.

"Sunshine. I'm so glad to see you. How did I do?"

"You were amazing," she said in disbelief. "You really shouldn't have wrecked your knee though. We need to get you looked at by a trainer."

"No," he said with resolution. "I'm fine. Just help me up."

She did as he commanded and with the referee's help, pulled him to his feet. He put his arm around her neck, his sweat drenched body resting against her.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" she asked as she helped him out of the ring.

"Never better," he said with his trademark goofy grin.

The other rookies were starting to line up outside the ring. The time for the first elimination was upon them. Dean started to hobble over and take his place but Aidan stopped him. He looked at her with mild surprise.

"Before you go…I hope I won't regret this, but I just wanted to say, I'm proud of you."

His expression was hard to read. He was unable to respond before Matt Striker approached him, microphone in hand.

"Dean, congratulations on your first win. But will it be enough to keep you from being eliminated tonight? What are your thoughts?"

Aidan had made her way back to her seat between Daniel and Dolph Ziggler She focused in on Dean. She always found herself anxious when he got ahold of the microphone.

"My thoughts are that it doesn't matter, win or lose, Dean Ambrose is the best thing that's ever happened to NXT. I'm one in a million. I don't have to win to be the best, but when I do, somebody will be left in a world of pain, right Brodus?"

Brodus Clay started toward Dean but was held off by the three other rookies surrounding him. Matt Striker continued on with disregard to the brawl that was about to break out behind him.

"Those are strong words coming from Dean Ambrose. Ladies and gentlemen, the time is upon us. Let's find out who will be going home tonight."

Everybody in the arena looked up at the titan tron as the names and faces of the rookies cycled like a roulette wheel. Aidan looked down at Dean. She was unsurprised to find him looking back at her. A buzzer sounded. Aidan glanced up at the titan tron. Conor O'Brien had been eliminated. Somehow, some way, Dean was safe, and strangely, Aidan felt relieved.

After the show was over, the rookies made their way up the ramp. Aidan fell in alongside Dean. They walked through the backstage area in silence, stopping outside the men's locker room.

"You want to come in?" he asked, breaking the silence.

She smiled.

"No, I don't think that would go over well."

He shrugged.

"Suit yourself. See you next week?"

He started to walk into the locker room. This time, Aidan was the one to stop him.

"Dean…thanks."

He raised an eyebrow, his lips pursing in an inquisitive way. After a moment, he nodded in understanding.

"See you around, Sunshine."

For the first time since she'd begun this journey in NXT, she actually felt happy with herself. Even more strange was that she was happy with Dean. It was almost like she was finally finding peace after struggling for weeks with this man who had so rudely interrupted her life. But behind this new peaceful feeling was something disturbing that she didn't want to admit to. She knew deep down that she was starting to care about him. He'd told her there was a connection between them and she'd fought with all her might to convince herself it wasn't true. Now she was starting to see he'd been right all along. It had to be the reason why they could play at each other's feelings so easily. Her newfound peace was short lived. With this new understanding came a great realization: Dean Ambrose was a part of her, a part that she could not leave behind.