14. The Girls and a Night of Somethings (Pt. 2)

By midnight, the official launch party for Roman Reigns' new gym, hosted by Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin, was in full swing. The drinks were flowing and it showed; the party-goers were dancing around freely and bodies were pressed against bodies. The popular beats of Kanye West and Jay Z caused the club to practically vibrate while countless voices jumped and sang along to the lyrics. Out of all of these party-goers, however, there didn't seem to be anyone having as much fun as the five girlfriends pressed together in the centre of the dance floor, making men stare as they gyrated against each other. Alicia and Kelly were quick to shake off such men, but Kaitlyn, Eve and Maria were relishing in being – as Eve liked to call it – sexy as fuck, but unattainable as fuck. The girls had had to have a brief chat in the bathrooms in order to remind a very drunk Maria about standards. She had, of course, shook it all off and seemed to be lost in her own little world as she swayed around and allowed herself to be taken away by the music and the atmosphere surrounding her.

That was the thing about Maria, something that friends admired in her and something that drew strangers towards her. The young woman carried around just as many burdens as the average person did, but she had a certain talent for rarely letting it show. She would often be teased about her residence in 'her own little world', but this world she had created for herself worked wonders for keeping her together and relatively carefree. The way she was grinning and dancing now, who would even guess that she was terrified about her future and job prospects? Who would even guess that she was terrified that with every romantic rejection she was getting closer and closer to the dreaded aloneness of adulthood? Maria Kanellis was terrified, but Maria Kanellis was also valiant, headstrong and ready for anything.

So what was it exactly that was encouraging her to persistently make eyes at the ruggedly handsome blonde man stood across the room from her? Was it these noble traits of hers? Was it the thought of Roman Reigns' subtle rejection? Or was it simply the liquor? Whatever it was, it was working its magic as the man made little hesitation in strolling confidently through the throngs of people over to Maria.

"Dean." Cool and confident, she kept her eyes on him as he looked her up and down, like a predator stalking its prey. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Hey Maria. Come outside with me?"

Her friends gaped open-mouthed as Maria slipped away with this mysterious man, gliding as if she was walking on air.

"Does she know him?" Kelly watched, almost in horror, unsure of whether to stop Maria from walking off with her new companion.

"She's had a tough couple of months," Eve shrugged, hardly even stopping her movements to the music. "He's pretty hot, right? Let her have a little bit of fun."

"I'm going to go to the bathroom," Kaitlyn called absent-mindedly, already halfway gone before she had even finished her sentence.

As with Maria, the influence of alcohol had quickly taken over the two-toned haired woman. She was having a good night, just like everyone else was. Her interactions with Mike had admittedly done much to change her opinion about him. Kaitlyn was certainly strong in her convictions, stubborn even, but that rarely stopped her from being friendly and down for a good time. Her guard had made sure that Mike had to put work in to get into her good books, and after a night of free drinks and good conversation, Kaitlyn's high school grudge was quick to fade.

But Mike wasn't really what was important tonight. As much as this party was about the five girls having the chance for the first time in a long, long time to be together and forget about real world stress and quite simply have fun, deep down each one of them had their own agenda in mind. Maria's had already made itself known and Kaitlyn felt she had no choice but to follow her example.

With every ounce of confidence she had in her, Kaitlyn stormed up to the blonde man stood by the bar and tapped aggressively on his shoulder.

"Dolph."

He spun around and smirked at the sight of the woman before him.

"Kaitlyn. Just can't keep away from me, huh?"

"Ugh," she scoffed, folding her arms around her chest in response to him blatantly checking her out. "I just came over here to let you know that I don't appreciate the way you spoke to me at the park the other day. Mike Mizanin might be cool now but you are not."

"How much have you had to drink?" He asked, holding back laughter. This was quite clearly the wrong thing to say, as her eyes darkened and her stance stiffened as soon as he spoke.

"You're an asshole, Ziggler. I'm here tonight and Kelly's here tonight and I suggest you stay away from us."

She spun around, attempting to have a dramatic exit, but Dolph grabbed hold of her arm and brought her towards him so that they were practically chest to chest.

"I can stay away from Kelly, fine, but I don't think it's fair that you're blacklisting me."

"Well I don't think it's fair that you treat women like shit."

"And I don't think it's fair that you're still holding on to high school grudges."

Kaitlyn clenched her jaw, still very conscious of the fact that Ziggler's grip felt as if it was burning into her skin and that their stare down would eventually have to end with one of them standing down. And Kaitlyn sure as hell was not ready to lose this round.

"You're drunk, Katie." She stiffened at the sound of this nickname. "Why don't you let me take you home?"

"Why don't you go fuck yourself?" She hissed in response.

Ziggler kept his cool, laughing it off instead of being offended. This only angered Kaitlyn more.

"What the hell is your problem?" She spat.

"If I recall correctly, you're the one who walked over here to talk to me," he said coolly. "Nobody forced you to. I think the problem is all yours, Katie. After all, it always has been; right?"

In her drunken state she must have attempted to lunge at him, because before she knew it, Mike was darting over to the scene and grabbing her around the waist. He did this calmly and smoothly, trying to avoid attention and confrontation. Kaitlyn could feel herself seething as Dolph simply readjusted his blazer and smoothed his hair down.

"I swear to God..."

Eve had found herself over by the bar, making conversation with a particularly intoxicated woman, when she noticed a pair of eyes on her. Dark brown eyes that accompanied a chiselled and handsome face and a large, muscular body. She wasn't exactly sure what it was, but something within her encouraged her to excuse herself from her conversation and saunter over to the other side of the bar, slipping Roman Reigns a seductive glance before turning away from him and leaning over the bar to order a drink. Yes, she was very aware of how great her ass looked in these high waisted denim shorts, and of how well the lacy black crop top she wore accentuated her bust. Eve had it, and was definitely not afraid of flaunting it.

So maybe the 'treat him mean, keep him keen' tactic was a little juvenile, but with someone as hot and as successful as Roman Reigns was, Eve definitely had to leave it up to him to make the first move. If Maria was right – and in all fairness to her, her sense of perception rarely failed – then he was at least somewhat interested. And like the redhead argued during their earlier conversation in the bathroom, girl code officially state that once the man in question has established his lack of interest in your friend, you were well within your rights to make a move of your own...

"But you literally tried to stalk the guy to get him to ask you out on a date. And you're telling me you'd be cool with me trying my luck with him?"

"It was more of an experiment than anything, Eve. I mean, yeah, he is ridiculously hot... But we don't really have anything in common. I spent at least a good five minutes talking to him and nothing. Not to mention he couldn't stop staring at you whilst talking to me."

"Sorry," Eve said sheepishly.

"Eh, whatever! Let's just call it payback for that time you had to relinquish your crush on Adam so that I could go out with him... for two months. I think I have some other options lined up, anyway. I can't even remember the last time you showed genuine interest in a guy, Evie. Go and get you some Roman and just have a little fun! You've earned it!"

"How exactly?"

Maria grinned and slapped her friend playfully on the behind.

"Who cares? You look hot as hell and that's all that matters. Now let's get out there and dance like crazy. Neither of us are leaving this party without a man on our arm, I can promise you that Evie."

"Hey, Eve right?"

She looked up in delight as he stood leaning beside her against the bar, towering over her all the same.

"That's right. I'm surprised a hot shot like you even remembered my name," she joked casually.

He shrugged. "I'm not a hotshot. And I always remember a pretty face."

She could barely keep herself from giggling like a fangirl.

"You went to high school with Mike, didn't you?"

"That's right. In fact, we dated for a while."

Roman's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Wow. Maryse, and you too? I don't know how he does it."

"It's the charm," Eve said with a laugh. "It's always the charm."

Roman chuckled and licked his lips in a way that made Eve practically swoon where she stood. She was fully aware of the amount of woman in their general area staring over at him with a similar sort of lust in their eyes, or staring over at her almost green with envy, and she couldn't help but admit that she loved the attention. It had been a while, after all.

"What about me?" His deep voice carried almost melodically over the music. "Am I doing okay with my charm?"

Eve took this as a direct confirmation of the fact that this man was now flirting with her; and so the fun could commence.

"Not too bad. The whole looking like a movie star thing helps too, and of course the whole being an entrepreneur thing doesn't hurt either."

"Wow. You are very direct, aren't you Eve?"

"My mother always taught me that you don't get anything in this world if you don't go after it."

"Does that mean you're trying to get me?"

"That's all up to you, Roman."

It was like a game for the two of them, this back and forth, sexually-charged exchange. Just from the way they were looking at each other it was easy to tell that they were ready to jump each other's bones. But the game had only just begun...

Or at least, it had only just begun by the time Eve's attention was drawn to a spot a few metres behind Roman, where Mike had just dove in to stop Kaitlyn from doing what looked like punching Dolph Ziggler's lights out.

"Oh my god," she muttered to herself. "I'm really sorry Roman, but I have to go and check on my friend. I'll see you around?"

He hesitated for a moment but then stopped her from dashing off.

"At least promise me you'll come have a drink with me before you leave tonight? All this business and party stuff is cool, but it would be nice to have someone to celebrate with. Especially if that someone is as beautiful as yourself."

Eve gave a satisfied smile. The look on Roman's face was sincere yet seductive, and once again he was licking his lips unashamedly.

"You have my word."

She allowed him to press a kiss on the back of his hand before dashing off to take Kaitlyn – literally – out of Mike's hands. She was still fuming, and the look on Ziggler's once smug face did a pretty good job of proving this.

"Thanks Mike. It's fine, I'll take her outside."

Eve was used to this. In all the years she had known Kaitlyn, she had lost count of the amount of times she had been forced to step in to diffuse her hotheadedness. This side of her came out very rarely, as Kaitlyn was usually esteemed for being a chilled-out kind of gal. But certain occasions... moreover, certain people would make her lose her cool; Dolph Ziggler being one of them.

"Get yourself together, girl," Eve hissed as she sat Kaitlyn down on a ledge in the outside area of the club. "I knew I should have stopped you the second I saw you eyeing Ziggler up earlier."

"I was not eyeing him up," Kaitlyn replied fiercely, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What even possessed you to go over there and speak to him?"

Eve shook her head and perched beside her; partly annoyed yet partly amused.

"He always gets away with everything. I can't stand him."

"Even so, you can't go lunging at him like that. You could have easily stayed away from him and you and I both know why you didn't. I know it must be hard for you seeing him after all these years, but it's not fair on yourself to go diving into all this history. You were both younger and now you're adults and-"

"Stop it, Eve! Stop!" Kaitlyn shoved Eve's hands out of her lap and scooted away from her in fury, her voice becoming progressively louder. "What is it, are you getting feelings for Mike again? Is that what's suddenly making you so loving and accepting of all the bullshit these dudes have thrown at us, regardless of how many years it's been? How many times do you think Mizanin hooked up with an insecure girl at college just so he could get the accolade of taking her virginity? How many times do you think Dolph Ziggler cheated on one of his college girlfriends and shrugged it off like nothing? How many times do you think Dolph Ziggler charmed his stupid way into some stupid girl's pants only to leave her high and dry? How many times do you think he abandoned her when-"

"Kaitlyn!"

Eve grabbed her increasingly hysterical friend by the shoulders and yanked her around so that they were face to face. A part of Eve was scared. In all these years she had seen many dark sides of Kaitlyn Bonin, but never like this. Never this impossibly drunk and shaking and crying and so angry and upset. She was like a woman possessed.

"What would Kelly say if she saw you like this? Are you trying to hurt her, Kaitlyn?"

Kaitlyn shook her head through sobs, gasping to get her breath back. Eve looked around helplessly, frustrated at the fact that she couldn't even call Maria, Alicia and Kelly for backup. Eve was relatively buzzed as it was, and she was barely in any state to help someone as drunk as Kaitlyn was.

"I can't believe I'm acting like this," Kaitlyn said, trying to wipe her face of tears and makeup. "I'm so sorry. I just... I don't know what came over me. It's just... all of this is too much. Seeing him twice now, being surrounded by all these memories. I need to get away, Evie. I'm moving, as soon as I can."

Eve nodded sympathetically, trying to conceal her own emotions as Kaitlyn let hers pour freely.

"I don't care if it's Chicago or Iowa or the North freakin' Pole. I just can't be in Hartford anymore."

"That's totally fine," Eve said quietly, massaging Kaitlyn's hands in hers. "Why don't you just take some time to yourself, maybe ask Ettore about spending a few days in Iowa with him? It might not be permanent, but it's something, right? We all need to escape sometimes. You know that more than anyone."

Kaitlyn giggled through her tears and reached over to pull her friend in for a hug. The two embraced in silence for a while, until they were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Almost in unison, Kaitlyn and Eve looked slowly from the two pairs of expensive looking shoes on the ground beneath them upwards to the sheepish faces of Dolph Ziggler and Mike Mizanin.

"...And then I ended up bumping into him again at the gym – the same day I met you – and I actually spoke to him! It was so crazy! So we're going to go out sometime – as friends – and I'm hoping that it will become something more. Isn't that crazy?!"

If Dean Ambrose had known that Maria had so much to say, he probably would have picked a different girl to spend time with tonight. When he had spotted her in the club, he almost couldn't believe his luck. Not only had he managed to find the hot redhead that had been running through his mind since their run-in at Believers, but judging by the way she was making eyes at him and seemed eager to follow him to the smoking area out back, she was totally up for the same thing he was up for. But after about a minute of flirting and twenty more minutes of her life story, he was starting to regret his decision.

"Yeah," he sighed, stamping out another cigarette. "That's so crazy."

A bright-eyed Maria nodded, so pleased to see him doing what was in her mind taking an interest.

"It's so nice to just talk, y'know?" She said with a dreamy sigh. "Most guys are just all about that one thing..." She shook a finger in his face to emphasize her point. "But not you. You are so sweet, Dean!"

Dean couldn't help but burst out laughing, shaking his head as he stared at her in disbelief.

"What's so funny?" She giggled.

Was this girl for real?

"You really are something, aren't you Maria?"

She shrugged with a shy smile.

"I hope you don't think I'm dumb. Because I'm definitely not. I'm just drunk, that's all. I promise you that I'm smart, honest!"

"I don't think that at all," he laughed. "I mean, that little plan you had to get with Roman? That was pure genius."

She smacked his arm and gave a look of offense.

"That might not have been my best idea, but that's okay. I told my friend Eve that they would be really cute together and I think she's going to get him and she really deserves it. Besides, if I didn't go to the gym that day to find him, I never would have bumped into Phil and then-"

"And then you'd never have your happily ever after fairytale yadda yadda yadda, I know."

"I'm sorry," she giggled sheepishly. "I must sound so boring. But it's just so cool, you know? I love when destiny falls into your lap and things come into place as if it is a fairytale. I've seen it happen so many times for other people and I want it so bad to be my turn! Do you believe in that stuff?"

Dean frowned, having been put in the hot seat. He had approached this girl for a fun time, so to speak, and his idea wasn't exactly sitting in a club hypothesising about the complexities of the world, or whatever it was that Maria was doing. But seeing as he had so much time on his hands, why not humour her?

"What if I haven't decided yet? I'm an open-minded guy; maybe I just need some convincing?"

"My friends Eve and Kaitlyn are just like you. Alicia and Kelly – I told you about them before – are so awesome and open to everything but the other two act like they refuse to believe good things can just come your way for no rhyme or reason. People never take me seriously when I say that but I really mean it and I really believe it. I just think it's so tiring and stressful being negative about things like that."

"I dig that," Dean said with a nod, lighting up another cigarette. "I honestly agree with you. I'm all about positivity."

Maria gave a proud grin. Maybe it was the booze talking, but she really liked this Dean Ambrose. She could see the two of them being very good friends.

"Are you sure you want to go home?"

Kelly nodded, glancing at her phone again. She had been exchanging text messages with Justin all night and she ached to be back with him. Alicia understood, just like Kelly knew she would, but she had a feeling her three single friends wouldn't be as okay with it. After all, this night was for them. But Kelly couldn't help but feel that the main thing Maria, Eve and Kaitlyn had on their minds was hooking up with the various men they had spent most of their evenings with. She wasn't mad, of course, she understood, but she simply couldn't see why she should stick around the party when Justin was at home, alone.

Alicia sighed and followed closely behind Kelly as they walked through the busy club to get to the outdoor area out back, where they figured the others would be. Maria was the first they found, sitting by a table with the blonde man she had disappeared with earlier. They were sat close together as she spoke excitedly and colourfully, while he eyed her carefully, as if taking in every last drop of her. Alicia rolled her eyes and scoffed at the sight of it. She knew full well that Maria's naivety went up and her sense of judgement went down when she was drunk, and this guy looked like he was fully aware of this.

"Maybe I should get her home too?" She whispered to Kelly as they approached.

Kelly nodded in agreement. "We'll go talk to her first, see how she's doing. There's no way we can let her go home with him, though."

The two girls walked forward like the cavalry, both exchanging smiles with Maria and unsure nods with her companion.

"Oh my god, Dean, it's Kelly and Alicia! I've told him so much about you guys. What are you doing here?! Come sit with us!"

The excitable Maria jumped up to bring more chairs around the table and fell straight into Dean's lap in the process.

"Oh god..." Alicia muttered, jumping into action immediately. Kelly did the same, the two grabbing an arm each and hoisting her back onto her seat. Kelly cleared her throat uncomfortably as Dean held onto her waist, helping them guide her back.

"Is she usually like this?" He chuckled as the giggling woman tried to regain composure.

"Define 'usually'," Alicia said with another roll of the eyes. "I'm really sorry to crash your party but I think we should probably get her home."

"Oh guys," Maria whined. "But I was having such a good time!"

"Yeah, we can definitely see that, 'Ria," Kelly giggled. She crouched by her friend and helped her adjust her attire, while Alicia tidied up her hair.

"I can see why Maria thinks so highly of you guys," Dean joked, watching in amusement as the two women did their best to get their friend together.

"Who are you?" Alicia said suddenly, admittedly in a much harsher tone than she intended. "Not to be rude or anything, but what exactly is your game? Trying to hook up with a girl drunk out of her mind?"

"Leesh..." Kelly muttered, sending a nudge Alicia's way.

"It's alright," he said with a shrug, standing up. "I guess this must look pretty bad. I'm a friend of Roman's, we work together. I met Maria at the gym the other day and bumped into her again tonight but I can assure you my intentions were pure. You probably should get her home but when she comes to could you remind her that she put my number in her phone? And that it'd be nice to see her again, maybe?"

Kelly and Alicia looked at each other, both frowning out of confusion and surprise.

"Uh..."

"Yeah, we'll do that," Kelly jumped in, giving him a warm smile. "Thanks for keeping her company, Dean. It was nice meeting you."

Dean looked over at Maria again with a chuckle as she waved a goodbye at him. Yeah, she was definitely something.

It was taking every ounce of strength that Kaitlyn had to be civil with Dolph. Eve and Mike hung back for a while, hovering over them like mediators as they sat in a stony silence.

"Could you give us a minute?" Dolph said finally.

Eve looked at Kaitlyn for instruction and in accordance with her small nod, she took Mike by the arm and dragged him away from the area.

"You realize how bad it would be for my reputation and for Roman's reputation if she was to claw his eyes out here?"

"Very funny," Eve rolled her eyes and playfully nudged Mike. "Kaitlyn's a hothead but she's had a cool-off time and I think she's ready to be an adult."

Mike chuckled. "To be honest, judging by the state of things, I wouldn't say anyone of us are ready to be an adult."

"That's pretty true," Eve replied with a sardonic laugh. "But at least some of us are doing big things while others can't even get lucky with a hot guy who's fully registered his interest."

"That is oddly specific. Do I know him?"

"It doesn't really matter. I'm going to let Kaitlyn deal with this Dolph thing then I'm going to find the other girls and head home. I think tonight has been far too much adventure for me."

Mike gave a wry smile and gestured for Eve to sit with him at an empty table.

"Speaking of adventure," he said. "The last time I saw of Maria she was getting pretty cosy with Roman's friend, Dean."

"Oh god," Eve muttered, putting her face in her hands. "Is he a decent guy, at least?"

Mike laughed. "He's cool. A little bit of an oddball, a bit of a loner even, but as far as I know he's pretty decent. Him and Roman are practically brothers, and I can't imagine Roman rolling with him if he wasn't."

"Good," Eve sighed. "I just hope she doesn't go home with him. She's been joking about leaving with a guy tonight but with the amount that girl has had to drink..." Eve was interrupted by Mike's laughter. "What?"

"Nothing. I just find it pretty sweet how protective all of you are of each other. No wonder Kaitlyn's got this grudge against Ziggler; I can't believe she was about to get into a bar fight for Kelly's honour."

Eve bit her lip. "Yeah, I guess."

They sat in silence, enjoying this break away from the pounding lights and thudding music of the party. Eve was the first to break it, taking a deep breath and looking down at her feet as she spoke.

"Maryse is perfect," she said out of nowhere. "I'll be honest with you, Mike: I kind of wanted to meet her and have her be really mean and awful so that I'd have a reason to hate her. But she's... perfect."

Mike gave a dry chuckle. "She's the love of my life," he admitted. "Why would you want to hate her?"

"Because that's how it works with exes," she blurted out. "She's your perfect future and I'm your muddy past and you literally have everything you could ever ask for and I basically have nothing. I know this sounds awful, but it just isn't supposed to be this way, is it?"

Mike bowed his head, unsure of what he could say. Eve had finally mustered up the courage to look up at him; her gaze boring a hole through him.

"I'm very happy about my life, Eve, but that's not because I've got a great girlfriend and a job and all that stuff. All that is cool, but it's not what my happiness is dependent upon. I'll be honest with you too, if that's what we're doing tonight. My self-esteem was practically nonexistent before college. I acted like a dick to overcompensate for how unsure of myself I was. I never really learned to believe in myself until sometime into college and that's when everything else seemed to fall into place. I'm happy because I want to be, and because I made the decision that I should be. I've made my mistakes but I'm learning and growing everyday and I'm so at peace with that."

He sighed, slowly moving his hand over so that it clutched Eve's.

"I don't want us to be exes anymore, Evie. I want us to be friends. High school is in the past and it doesn't matter anymore. I want you in my life again, if you'll have me."

"Let's do it," she grinned. "Let's be friends. No more grudges, no more games, no more competition."

Mike nodded and squeezed her hand, pulling her in for a hug.

"I know times are tough, but you can get through it. I believe in you."

Eve closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being enveloped by Mike's warmth. I believe in you, he had told her, and for the first time in years, Eve found herself doing something that she never thought she'd do again; believe the words of Mike Mizanin.

"It was one time, Kaitlyn." Dolph ran a hand through his hair and shook his head in disbelief. "One time. We were both young and stupid."

"I regret it every day."

"It was mutual. We both made that decision."

"And it was wrong."

"You think I don't know that?"

"You got exactly what you wanted out of me and then you got rid of me like I was nothing. You made me feel like nothing, Dolph; just like you made Kelly feel like nothing. You've got a knack for that, haven't you?"

"I was a kid, Kaitlyn! Goddamit!"

He rose to his feet and kicked the ground in frustration, pacing around.

"God, I just don't get why you can't let it go. What, were you in love with me or something? Is that what it was? Because you know full well that-"

"Oh, shut the fuck up Dolph."

Dolph stopped, taken aback by her calm rudeness.

"You know what?" She stood and straightened herself up. "I'm done. Let's just call it a day as it is, okay? We'll agree to never see each other or speak to each other again and just be done with it. No more awkward encounters around town, no more awkward banter; that's it. I can make peace with never having to see you again, for real this time. So let's do that."

He grabbed her arm as she went to leave, a repeat of their previous encounter at the park. She shrugged it off with little hesitation.

"What if that option doesn't work for me?"

"Well then, that's just too bad."

"For god's sake, Kaitlyn..."

"What exactly do you want from me, Dolph?" The tone of her voice was increasingly desperate, as if she was pleading with him to just let her be.

"I want to know why you're so mad at me 'till this day! I know full well that it isn't because I cheated on Kelly back in high school, nor is it because we fucked..."

"Stop it, Dolph-"

"So what is it?" By now they were up close and personal, their faces just inches from each other. "Did I suck in bed? Did I break your heart by not asking you to be my girlfriend? Are you just guilty about Kelly? There has to be something..."

"It's because you're an asshole," she spat. "You were back then and you still are. You take advantage of girls at their weakest, lowest point and you prey on them and you make them your personal conquests and you make it so they can never trust a man again, that's all your fault and I despise you for it. Just looking at you, standing here with you makes me feel sick to my stomach. So I don't ever want to see you again. I want you out of my life and this time for good."

Dolph stared her down in disbelief. Her chest was heaving and her fists were clenched. She showed no signs of backing down, either; staring him straight in the eye and forcing him to stare back. Then out of nowhere he took a step forward and cupped her face in his hands, planting a strong, passionate kiss on her lips. It only took her seconds to push him away from her and slap him straight across his cheek.

"I mean it, Dolph," she spoke quietly, her voice breaking as she did so. "I don't want to see you again. I can't keep dealing with this and going back and..." she sighed, shaking her head. "I'm asking you to respect that."

His jaw clenched and he remained in silence as he stared at her.

"Fine," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "That's it, then. Goodbye, Kaitlyn."

"Bye Dolph."

She hung back nervously as his eyes finally dropped from hers and he turned and left; not even bothering to straighten up his jacket or smooth down his hair like he usually would. Kaitlyn could feel her breath catching in her throat as she watched him leave, and she had no choice but to try her absolute best to keep from sobbing.

"Eve! There you are!"

Eve gasped as Kelly wandered over, her pretty features just as friendly looking as they always were.

"Hi Mike," she greeted the man sat beside her friend, slightly confused about his presence in the place of this Roman guy Eve had her eye on.

"Hey Kells. What's up?"

"Well, I'm just getting ready to go."

"Cool, I'll come with."

Eve jumped up in a hurry and practically began to usher Kelly back the way she came. Kelly giggled and questioned her rush to leave.

"It's fine, Eve, you should stay. You seem like you're having a really good – Dolph?"

Time seemed to stop as Eve, Kelly, Mike and Dolph all froze in shock. Eve could feel the panic setting within her, while Kelly and Dolph were engaged in a tense stare down. Kelly and Dolph had on matching horrified expressions. Eve and Mike stared at each other, each silently begging for the other to come up with a game plan.

Time didn't start up again until Kaitlyn finally wandered over from the same way Dolph did. Realizing she had walked right into the worst situation possible, she froze and her glance darted across the four people stood around her.

In typical night out fashion, all of this was rudely interrupted by Kaitlyn doubling over and vomiting into the gutter behind her.