The two of them were so wrapped into each other that they didn't noticed that new people had joined them. A clearing of the throat finally separated them. They both looked over and saw that their friends had joined them. Felicity, Batista and Farooq were chuckling at them. Farooq teasingly slapped Bradshaw on the back,
"You're going soft on me Bradshaw!" Batista joined in on the ribbing,
"I don't think so Farooq. He was already soft to begin with." Bradshaw playfully punched Batista in the arm,
"Ha ha very funny Dave! I remember you going soft once you started dating Felicity!" She nodded,
"It's true." All of them shared a laugh to ease the awkward moment that finally passed. Farooq finally told the reason why he was there,
"Bradshaw, the GM wants to talk to us about a match." The tall Texan nodded and turned to Krystina,
"Can we talk later? I think we've got to clear a few things up." Krystina nodded,
"I agree. We'll talk later at the hotel." He nodded and gave her a hug and kiss on the lips. She waved by as she watched her two team mates leave. She couldn't help but sigh as she felt her mind run at 100 miles a minute but she was interrupted by her best friend,
"Hey, was there something I missed?" Krystina nodded,
"Dad found out about us." Dave winced,
"Ouch. He found out when Lesnar came to bother us, right?" the blue eyed diva nodded again. Felicity put her hand on her shoulder,
"Let me guess. He went nuts, right?" Krystina chuckled exasperatedly,
"Oh I wish. After we went to get ice, he took us outside and said he couldn't understand why he wasn't told and then told Bradshaw that he violated his trust. Of course I had to defend him saying that I was the one who made the first move. I started to cry and then you won't believe it, I ran off." Dave's eyes went wide,
"You ran? You mean Krystina Benoit the female Badass of APA ran?" She nodded solemnly,
"Yeah, I guess I had a panic attack. Jesus, that guy is doing things to me and I can't control myself around him."
"It's because you love him, Tina." She turned to look at her best friend who had a small smile on her lips. She turned to Batista who nodded his head in agreement,
"Hey, she knows you better than I do. It hits us all one time or another. At least it's with a good guy Tina. Yeah, he's been an asshole to some wrestlers and was even hated at one point, but once he fell for you he knew you didn't want a guy who was a bully so he changed himself so that he could be up to your standards." Tina raised her eyebrow,
"And how do you know he changed for me? Maybe he changed because he grew up and matured." Dave smirked,
"He told me what happened when you confronted him about Mark Henry years ago." Krystina chuckled as she recalled the memory,
They had just finished their match against Lita and the Hardy Boyz. They were walking down the halls of the arena when she spotted one of the new wrestlers, Mark Henry, who had recently joined the company. She wanted him to feel welcome so she smiled and waved at him,
"Hi Mark! How's it going?" He smiled and waved back,
"Fine, thank you! Enjoying the experience!" He waved goodbye and continued to walk when to her horror she saw Bradshaw push him into a wall,
"What? Farooq and I aren't good enough for you to say hi to?" Mark Henry frowned in anger,
"No. That's not it…" Bradshaw got in his face,
"Oh so I'm a liar?" Before anything escalated Krystina intervened and got in between them,
"Stop it Bradshaw!" She turned to Mark, "I'm so sorry Mark. He can be a bit rash to new wrestlers but he'll grow on you." Mark Henry stared him down as he walked off. Bradshaw loomed over his female teammate,
"Who the hell do you think you are disrespecting me like that in front of others?" Krystina rolled her eyes,
"That ain't right what you did Bradshaw. Poor guy's new to a company and you start treating him like shit? How is that supposed to help us get good talent around here?" He walked up to her causing her to be backed up against a wall,
"It's a rite of passage that men in the wrestling have to go through. I don't know how you girls do it, but the new wrestlers have to respect and fear the veterans. We have a say on how the etiquette works around here." He put his arms on the wall on both sides of her so she couldn't move. His face was centimeters from hers as he tried to instill fear in her, "Know your place, Diva." He put emphasis on the word Diva knowing that she hated it, "I'm just training you because your Dad asked me to, but all you're going to be good for is looking cute and dating the roster. If you keep this attitude thing up, then that won't happen."
Tina felt her face redden as she wrapped her hands around his wrists and twisted them with enough force causing him to cry out in pain. She pushed him sending him crashing to the floor. He sat up with a wince unable to believe that she had been able to take him down,
"Get this straight. I'm going to be a damn good wrestler whether you train me or not. If I choose to date someone on the roster, at least they won't be a god damned piece of shit bastard like you!" She looked at Bradshaw and then at Farooq. They both had their mouths hanging open, unable to believe that their once very sweet teammate was standing over Bradshaw and cursing him out. She walked away in a huff, with the two of them staring after her.
Krystina smirked, "I guess we've come a long way since then." Dave smiled,
"I would say so!" He glanced at his watch, "Crap, we've got to go get ready for the show. I'll see you guys later!" He hugged Krystina and then kissed Felicity. The two of them watched him go. Felicity sighed,
"I hate seeing him go but I love watching him leave…" Krystina looked over at her friend who looked back at her. The two of them started laughing as they walked away arm in arm.
Bradshaw and Farooq walked out of the General Manager's office with victorious smiles on their faces. Tonight they would be facing The Hardy Boyz and Lita in a non-title match. Of course that meant that Krystina would join them. They walked back to their locker room when they spotted Brock Lesnar. He stopped in the middle of the hallway and stared back at the Acolytes. He pointed up them, his face furious at today's encounter,
"If you're both men enough, Next week you guys versus Big Show and us. That will show the people what will happen at Survivor Series. Leave that slut Krystina in the back where she belongs." Bradshaw lunged at Lesnar, but Farooq held him back,
"Not today. Save it for next week." Lesnar walked off laughing triumphantly since he knew he got under Bradshaw's skin. Bradshaw watched him leave like a falcon watching his prey run through the fields below him. Farooq gave him an assuring pat on the back. The two of them walked into the locker room and found Krystina dressed in her wrestling attire, putting on her thigh high boots. She looked up and saw Bradshaw and Farooq,
"Hey guys! What's up?" Looking at their solemn faces she frowned, "What happened?" Farooq broke the news,
"Lesnar challenged us to a match next week against him. He also chose Big Show as his partner." Krystina sighed,
"Well, are you guys going to accept?" Bradshaw still piqued about the encounter, snapped,
"What do you mean are we going to accept? of course we're going to accept the challenge!" Krystina looked at him placing her hands on her hips,
"I was just asking. You don't have to yell at me." Bradshaw balled his fist,
"'You don't have to yell at me'? If you hadn't got in Lesnar's face, we wouldn't be in this predicament, would we?" Krystina's eyes bore into Bradshaw's as she angrily snapped,
"And I would do it again if it meant protecting her from Lesnar." She chuckled incredulously, "I can't do this. I can't be with an asshole." Bradshaw walked up to her and got in her face,
"What do you mean by that?" She didn't back down and yelled,
"We're done and I'm leaving the APA!" She stormed off and slammed the door behind her. Bradshaw turned to a set of lockers and released all his fury in a powerful kick that sent them crashing to the ground.