A/N: I realize it's been a long time since I updated. When life gets busy, it's hard on a writer. But at last, I bring you a new chapter, and I think you will all be pleased. At least I hope so, lol. Thanks again for all the reviews, follows, favorites and other support this story is receiving. I noticed quite a few new readers from the last chapter, so welcome to you all and I hope you continue to enjoy!

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Look behind you.

Aidan received the text message minutes before NXT was to begin. It was from Punk.

Confused, she turned around, looking everywhere and not knowing what she was looking for. It didn't take her long to see him. He was standing at the other side of the room, a goofy grin on his lips. Without hesitation, she took off running, throwing her arms around him with enough force to nearly knock him over. Chuckling, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in tight.

"Did you miss me?"

"Of course I did," she said. She pulled back to look at him, still in disbelief that he was really there. "What are you doing here?"

"I got the night off, so I decided to come see you."

"You should be home resting."

Shrugging, he said, "I'll rest when I'm dead. All I know is that I was missing you like crazy and I couldn't wait any longer to see you."

A smile crept onto her lips. She gave him a soft, lingering kiss, relishing the feeling of being in his arms again. Their reunion was cut short when the director started shouting from across the room.

"Alright! Places everybody! The show will kick off in five minutes."

"Are you going to stick around?"

"I'm here all night. And after the show is over, you're coming with me!"

"That's something to look forward to," she said with a smile.

She turned to walk away, but Punk caught her around the waist and pulled her back into him, giving her a long, deep kiss. As their lips parted, she gazed into Punk's olive eyes. She felt truly happy for the first time since she'd left him weeks ago to join the Smackdown crew. That happiness quickly disintegrated when she caught sight of Dean standing a few feet away. He was staring at them, his arms crossed, a snarl of disgusting twisting his lips. He glared at her for a moment before stomping off.

"Are you ok?" Punk asked, concern behind his eyes.

"Y-yeah…" she stammered.

"What's his problem?" Punk asked, nodding his head in the direction of the place Dean had just been standing. Her stomach further twisted into knots; she'd hoped he hadn't seen him.

"Who? Dean? He's just…he's very…"

"Aidan! Let's go! We're on in two minutes!" the director shouted impatiently.

"Is he still bothering you?" Punk asked urgently.

Regaining composure, she said, "No—I don't know what his problem is. There's no telling with him."

Punk wasn't convinced. As she'd feared, he seemed to know something was up.

"I've got to go. We'll talk about it later, if you want."

With that, she bolted toward the curtain where the other pros were waiting. She hoped in vain that Punk would forget about Dean by the time the show was over.

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That night, it was announced that a huge prize was up for grabs by the NXT rookies. One rookie would win a match on RAW the following Monday against an opponent of his choosing. In order to get this opportunity, the rookies had to survive a gauntlet match. Aidan watched with mild interest as the two rookies that were to start the match were randomly selected. The first name drawn was Byron Saxton. The second name was Dean Ambrose.

Aidan watched as he descended the ramp toward the ring. He didn't' look at her, but he still had that same snarl of disgust on his face. However, there was an eerie focus in his eyes, a determination that she seldom witnessed. He'd said before when he wanted to win, he would win. By the look of it, that's exactly what he meant to do.

He quickly laid waste to Byron Saxton, savagely beating the other rookie before he could even land a hit on him. Johnny Curtis was up next. Dean had to try a bit harder this time. The match went back and forth for several minutes, both men equally determined to come out on top. Dean played along, waiting for his opportunity. It came when Johnny wildly missed a clothesline. Dean caught him from behind and delivered a brutal over the shoulder back to belly piledriver. Dean pinned him for a three count. Two down, two to go.

The next opponent was Derrick Bateman. Dean crouched down low, waiting for Derrick to enter the ring. He hit him with a spear right off the bat with enough force to wind the other man. The rest of the match went much the same. Dean was always one step ahead of Derrick. He ended the match by locking in the Fujiwara armbar. Though Derrick tried to resist, Dean wrenched his arm harder and harder, finally forcing him to tap out.

Matt Striker wasted no time introducing Dean's final opponent. Unlucky for Dean, they'd saved the biggest, and most brutal NXT rookie for last. Aidan looked at Dean as Brodus slowly approached the ring. Surprisingly, he didn't look very tired. She suspected he was hiding any fatigue that he had. Brodus was going to pick out any weakness from the start and try to use it against him.

The two locked up and Dean was shoved down onto the mat. He pounded the canvas in anger and stood back up, charging at the much bigger man. Again, he was swatted away like a fly. Aidan's eyes widened in alarm as Dean was knocked down a third time. This time, he stayed down, gasping and out of breath. The match went on like this for a while. Dean was definitely showing signs of being tired now. It seemed like every effort was being put into staying in the match, but he couldn't get ahead of Brodus. Aidan was beginning to lose hope. It seemed inevitable that Dean was going to lose this match, even after coming so far.

By this time, Brodus was confident he had the match won. His moves were becoming sloppy and careless. Out of nowhere, Dean kicked Brodus in the knee, causing the big man to fall to the mat. Dean put him in a crossface chickenwing hold, wrenching Brodus's arm back viciously. Dean released the hold and executed a perfect front dropkick straight to Brodus's head. Brodus fell with a thud to the match. Dean rolled over him, locking in a pin. Aidan watched in disbelief as the ref made a three count. The match was over. Dean had survived the gauntlet from start to finish.

Aidan watched Dean closely as Matt Striker entered the ring, microphone in hand. He stood by Dean who was looking exhausted yet satisfied.

"Dean, congratulations on winning the gauntlet match. You now have a guaranteed match on RAW next Monday night. Any ideas on who you'd like to face?"

He grabbed the mic out of Striker's hand.

"Any ideas? There's only one person I want to fight on RAW, and that's the WWE champion CM Punk."

Striker's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"You're going straight to the top? That's a bold move."

"CM Punk considers himself the best in the world," Dean said gesturing wildly. "The best in the world is just a gimmick. I'm better than the best, and Monday night, the whole world is going to watch Dean Ambrose burn CM Punk's reputation to the ground."

He shoved the microphone at Matt Striker and slid out of the ring. There was a new fury alight in Dean's eyes as he ascended the ramp to the stage where the pros were all sitting. He shot Aidan a sideways glance before disappearing behind the curtain. She couldn't read anything in his flat blue eyes but anger and hatred.

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Backstage, Aidan searched around for Dean. She wanted to talk to him about the little stunt he'd just pulled in challenging Punk to a match on Monday. She found him on his way out of the building, already changed out of his ring gear, his bag slung over his shoulder.

"Dean!"

He turned slowly to look at her.

"What do you want?" he asked in a low growl.

Aidan was a bit nervous about his demeanor, but she went on anyway.

"Congratulations on winning tonight. You did an amazing job."

He eyed her skeptically.

"Is that all you wanted to say? You came here to verbally jerk me off?"

"No," she said, her brows furrowing.

He dropped his bag to the floor and closed in on her. The nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach rose sharply.

"Then what do you want to talk about?"
"Why don't we talk about the reason you challenged Punk to a match Monday night."

"The reason is simple. He's the champion. Why would I fight anyone else?"

It was her turn to be skeptical.

"You don't want to fight him for any other reasons?"

A disgusting grin split Dean's lips.

"Sunshine! You think I want to fight your boyfriend over you!"

"That's not—"

"No, no, just let me stop you right there. I don't give a fuck about you or him. I'm doing this because I'm going to humiliate him Monday night in front of the world."

"Why humiliate him? You don't give a fuck, remember?"

His eyes flashed dangerously.

"I'm going to humiliate him because I can."

"You're going to humiliate yourself," she said firmly.

She turned her back on him and stomped off down the hallway.

"Hey, Aidan."

His voice sounded sweet and strangely predatory. It sent chills through her body. She slowly turned around and glared at him, waiting for him to say whatever crazy thing he was bound to say.

"I want you to think about me when you go home with him tonight. Think about how your body was pressed to mine when my tongue was slipping inside your mouth. Think about my hands on your skin, that little moan you let out when I touched your tits. If I was able to get that response just by kissing you, think of how it's going to feel when you finally let me fuck you again."

He had a shit eating grin on his face as he picked up his bag and disappeared out of the door into the night. She stared down the empty hallway, newly furious at Dean for saying the very thing he knew would ruin the rest of her night.