Hey guys! Thanks so much to everyone who has been reading and reviewing. Chapter 8 already! I just thought I'd quickly post something that would clear up a couple of questions I've been getting:

First, I'm intentionally making pairings unclear. My story is first and foremost focused on the five girls and their lives, so naturally romantic interests will float in and out of them. Obviously the pairings that have already been made clear are Kelly/Justin and Alicia/Wade, but Eve, Maria and Kaitlyn all remain single so who knows what could happen! I sort of want this story to be a slow burn, so their romantic lives could take a while to take off; which is where the fun and intrigue lies! As I've said before, we'll see some names like Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Cody Rhodes added to the story soon, on top of Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, CM Punk, The Miz, Big E Langston and Dolph Ziggler who have already been thrown into the mix, so get excited, guys!

Also, the structure of the story is pretty set: each of the girls will have a chapter about their individual lives and then it will all be brought together in the following 'Girls' chapter. So far we've sort of got through the first round of Eve-Maria-Kelly-Alicia-Kaitlyn-Girls so I hope this structure is clear and working for everyone! I hope you enjoy this next chapter as it will be the starting point for some of the drama that will be kicking off in the next few. xo

8. Eve and the Love Deserved

Eve Torres took one last look at herself in the reflection of her car window, smoothing down her skirt and readjusting her hair. Her brunette locks were the longest they'd ever been, and even though she'd spent most of her adolescence praying for this length, a part of her was ready to just snip it short and be done with it. Today it hung in loose waves over her shoulders, framing her bust in the button up shirt she had on.

With one last nod, Eve walked across the sidewalk to Treaty Pie, the local diner she remembered frequenting throughout high school; most notably while on dates with Mike Mizanin. She hadn't been back in years, not since high school, and stepping through its front doors she could see that it hadn't changed a bit. The rustic decor was easily recognizable, from the wooden panelling on the walls to the homely signs of welcome throughout. Even the waitress who stood speaking to Mike as he sat at a table in the corner seemed familiar.

"Eve!"

She smiled politely as Mike noticed her, waving her over. He was now alone, again dressed up in a shirt and slacks, grinning at her as she approached. He stood to greet her, pulling her in for a hug.

"You look great," he said as they sat at the table.

"Thanks Mike. So do you."

"Can you believe this place?" He said as he looked around the busy diner. "It still looks exactly the same as it did back in high school. That waitress over there recognized me and everything. I'm sure she was working here that day when I took you here on our first date; there's no way she'd forget that jittery kid trying to look impressive in front of this gorgeous girl."

Eve gave a wry smile, no wanting to get as invested in this walk down memory lane as he seemed to be.

"Man, that was so long ago," he said finally, sighing and leaning back in his chair. "I never would have thought back then that one day we'd be sat here again, under these circumstances."

"What circumstances?" She asked suddenly, leaning forward slightly.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "As adults, able to be civil with each other after everything that went down between us."

"When you say 'everything that went down' do you mean that time you used me and our sex life as a way to get cred from your boys?"

He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, looking down at his hands to avoid her gaze. Eve took a deep breath.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "I guess all that stuff is still pretty fresh in my mind."

"I don't blame you for hating me. To be honest, I didn't even expect you to come out to lunch with me today. I know I don't deserve your time."

She sighed heavily.

"I don't hate you, Mike. You just never really get over your first heartbreak, do you?"

"No, I guess not."

They were both silent for a while as another waitress came along to take their orders. They ordered quickly and the waitress was sent away again, leaving the two alone again; staring each other down.

"I'm still really sorry," Mike said suddenly. "I've never forgiven myself for the way I treated you. You deserved better but I'm sure you already know that."

Eve nodded graciously, and then out of the blue began laughing quietly to herself. Mike frowned.

"Oh my god, what's that really cheesy quote from that Wallflower movie, the one with Ezra Miller? I'm sure I read that book back in school and totally thought it was the most profound thing. Something like 'we accept the love we think we deserve'. After we broke up I re-read that book and sobbed as soon as I got to that line. Pretty pathetic, right?"

"You were always the clever, book-y one," he replied with a grin. "That's a pretty cool quote though. I get it. Sort of explains why you put up with my sorry ass for so long!"

She laughed, finally allowing her posture to loosen up.

"Nah, it wasn't all that bad. I could have done without the hair and the catchphrases and the awful clothes but..."

"Ouch, Eve, don't hold back!"

Each caught the other's eye and held their gaze there for a moment, before dropping it again.

"You know, you never told me what you're getting up to these days."

Eve shrugged in response.

"I guess you could say I'm... waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"For something substantial. I've moved back home to my parents' house because I couldn't find a job, so I basically spend my days working out or filling out job application after job application. Or, of course, painting my toenails and drinking wine with the girls."

Mike laughed.

"By 'the girls', do you mean Kelly and them?"

Eve nodded proudly.

"I would say I'm surprised that you guys are just as tight as you were back then, but then again, I don't think I am. You always had this weird relationship type thing going on, even when we were dating."

Eve smiled and began picking at the lettuce on the plate that had just been placed in front of her.

"They're family. It sucks being back home and jobless but I'm so thankful that I have them here, at least for the time being. Alicia's about to move away to New York with her boyfriend, Maria and Kelly are looking for work out of state and Kaitlyn's been rumbling about getting out of Connecticut as soon as possible. So I don't really know what the future holds, but for now we've kind of got some solidarity going on."

"What about you?"

Eve frowned. "What about me?"

"Well, what do you want to do? Do you plan on staying in Hartford?"

"I don't really know," she admitted. "I guess more than anything I just want a job. But I loved going to school in California and it would be such a dream to move back there, but I just don't know. I still don't think I've decided what I want to be when I grow up, but hey, that's an English Literature major for you."

"Honestly, Eve, where you're at right now is great. This fresh out of college thing is great because it's so liberating. You could literally throw a dart at a map and making the choice to move to any state or city you want. So why not?"

"Because the thought of doing that is terrifying!"

Mike shook his head.

"You're way too smart and way too talented to think like that. You talk about accepting the love you deserve, well, what's wrong with taking the life you deserve?"

She remained quiet, reflecting on his words.

"I'm moving to LA," he said suddenly, making her snap to attention, gaping at him in shock.

"For good you mean?"

He nodded. "I've been offered the job I've been working towards for years. Maryse is getting a work visa soon and once she does, we're going to find an apartment to rent out and make the move down there. That's where we both want to be, so bad. We've been talking about all sorts of things; marriage, starting a family, maybe even some sort of business. I love Connecticut, but my dreams are way too big for this place."

Eve let out a dry laugh. Mike would say those same words constantly during high school, and now his persistence had finally paid off.

"I'm so happy for you!" She managed to choke out. "That's amazing. When are you making the move?"

"Within the next couple of months, if all goes to plan."

"That's great. So awesome, Mike."

"I think you should do the same, Evie."

"What, move to LA? I think I'll leave that to Maria," she giggled.

"No, I mean you should find your LA. Whether it's a place or a job or just some sort of plan, I think you should find it and go for it."

Eve sighed. "I wish it were that easy, Mike."

"Hey, since when were you a cynic?"

She shrugged and Mike gave her a sad smile.

"How would you like to go to a party this weekend?"

She looked up at him and frowned.

"Huh?"

"I've got this friend who works in business and stuff like that; he's this young guy who graduated a couple years before me but he's crazy successful. He moves around a lot and is in Hartford for a little while; he just opened a gym downtown and everything. Maryse and I have been working with him and his franchise stuff, and he's throwing a launch party this weekend; 'Ryse is flying in for it and everything. It should be a lot of fun; maybe even give you the chance to meet some people, maybe network a little? You can bring your girls along too, I'll put you all on the guest list."

"Is this your way of showing how sorry for me you feel?"

He laughed. "No, Eve. I don't feel sorry for you. You're a friend and I just want to do anything I can to help you out. Come to this party; let your hair down."

Reluctantly, Eve agreed.

"Awesome! Uh, sorry," He added, noticing the grimace on her face. "Hey, you know, I've been talking about Maryse non-stop and I haven't even asked you about your love life. We've already covered all the boring stuff, we might as well talk about that!"

Eve groaned and sipped her glass of ice water, half-wishing it was alcoholic.

"Ugh. How about we don't?"