Enjoy! :)

Tuesday, June 26: Friday Night SmackDown taping – Pittsburgh, PA; CONSOL Energy Center

(Show in progress)

Miz's POV

I stand away from Paige and Barrett, straight across a hall where I can't be seen on camera. For this backstage segment, they're going to be talking to each other. Bad News mentions that he's proud of what Paige did to Brie on RAW and once again, I interfere just before they kiss. It's funny because Creative weren't the ones to write these pop-ins—they were administered by yours truly. The camera crew is ready and the equipment's white light is getting hot in this small space. I'm watching them—mostly Paige—closely. She turns her head to me and motions for a kiss with her lips. I give her a wink back. My girlfriend is too damn hot.

"Rolling!"

Barrett begins his praise, "Paige, what you did last Monday night to that frilly Total Diva was incredible to watch. Glad to know you can deliver some bad news just like me."

"Well Barrett, what can I say? I learn from the best. What you're gonna do to that pest Miz will be even better because when you finally shut him up, he'll know not to mess with Bad News." Her voice sounds more put together, she's been practicing. She adjusts the Divas Championship title on her shoulder.

"Like I said, we're going to be on top of the world come Money in the Bank. You and me..." Barrett starts leaning in.

"Woah, hey!" Pop goes The Miz, "Am I interrupting something here?" I place myself right between their heads. I catch the corner of Paige's expression, nearly about to break into a grin.

I eye her up and down then look to Bad News before she decides to crack, "Hey champ. I just wanted to say good luck against my buddy, Dolph Ziggler, tonight. Seeing as though he was this close to beating you for that title, you'll need it."

"Miz, don't you have to be annoying elsewhere?" Paige says. Her eyes are trying so hard to be angry at me, luckily the Universe won't be able to see the way she's looking at me, because it's not really working.

"Wouldn't you like to know, sweetheart."

"C'mon Paige, don't associate yourself with this waste of skin. Let's go." Barrett turns away and leaves out of the frame.

She turns to follow, but I grab her by the bicep, "Paige," she stares at me, "Just between you and me, I like a bad girl." I throw a wink with a smirk. I'm really testing her now.

Paige just scoffs and continues to head Barrett's direction. The camera focuses on my face, then cuts. "Alright, good job everyone!" One of the men yell out. The bright light shuts off and I release a breath.

"Babe, you're an ass for making me go through that!" My girl returns my way and slaps me in the chest. "I like a bad girl," Holding her body close, I repeat this in her ear. She giggles as I plant a kiss on her cheek.

"Don't forget your roles later," Barrett says and walks away, disappearing into the hall. Bad News hasn't been as complicated as I thought he would be throughout this storyline. I'm surprised, yet still suspicious. He's like that third wheel friend, except I wouldn't necessarily call him a friend. I give him that respect in not trying anything with Paige, just hope I won't have to take it back.

I get the cue to run to ringside. Parting the black curtain, a wave of cool air hits my body. In a near sprint, it only takes two seconds for the WWE Universe to realize that I've come down the ramp. Bad News Barrett and Ziggler are battling it out, with Paige standing to the right side of the ring. I scramble to the apron, and motion Barrett to take a swing. He's furious and goes for a punch but I jump back down before any contact. Paige comes over, yelling random remarks of "Get out!" and "You don't belong here!"

I'm anticipating that slap as I face her. "What're you gonna do about it, huh?" I say, loud enough for the cameras near us to pick up. We're staring at each other with "tension" building between us. Then, she swings. Slap! There's a collective response from the fans in the front rows. I hold my jaw to sell the pain. I watch the rest of the finish unfold as Barrett is still facing us.—Ziggler goes for ZigZag, he counters making him roll back, then when he runs toward Barrett, a Bullhammer Elbow is pulled out of nowhere. One, two, three. Paige slides into the ring to be a part of his victory celebration. Barrett raises the title towards my direction. This last part is going to kill me, only because I won't be able to stop it. Bad News reaches for Paige and kisses her, right in front of me. My jaw clenches tightly in disgust.

I shake my head and yell out, "That championship is mine, Barrett!"What I really mean is "That girl is mine, get your hands off her."

The Bad News Barrett entrance theme plays in the arena and this post match segment is a close. The arena lights dim, signaling us to leave the ring. In the dark, I cautiously return to backstage.

I seriously didn't want to stare at the sight of my rival with his lips on my girlfriend, but when the cameras are on, it's business. The fans don't know that Paige and I are actually together and it makes me sick to my stomach when they have to be a couple. No, all they see is that I want the Intercontinental Championship from Barrett, and he just so happens to have an ally in Paige as another factor in preventing that from happening. The image leaves an annoying stain in my head. Eww.

Antsy, my foot taps waiting for Paige to come back. A figure maneuvers their way through the tunnel, it's Dolph. "Nice job out there, Nick."

"Thanks man. I caught a glimpse of the aftermath. Dude—how. Was. That?"

"I hated it, but whatever, you know? Business." I shrug it off like nothing even though my real thoughts beg to differ.

"Yeah. Just business. Don't worry, you'll be fine Miz," He taps my shoulder, and continues to go past me.

Two more figures trudge through the space. Paige first—she sees me, there's the twinkle in those eyes. I extend my neck out with lips positioned for a kiss. I lift my finger and tap my mouth twice. She skips to get to me, like an excited kid on Christmas. Our heads connect by the lips.

Barrett makes a sound to dismiss what he sees. "I had to watch you kiss Paige, you have to do the same with me," I say before he leaves.

"There's a difference, Miz. Out there, it's nothing. Behind closed doors, I'm sure the next step for you two is sex."

"Maybe you're right..." Paige slaps me in the arm after that remark.

"You're still caught up with the little conversation I had with Paige, aren't you? Listen, let bygones be bygones. If it makes you feel any better, I'll let you know right now I take none of this personally. You and Paige are together, congratulations. I just want to make the story the best it can possibly be, alright? Let's agree on that, Miz. I want none of the dramatics. " He reaches his hand out.

Those words are exactly what I wanted to hear. I'm pleasantly surprised at him stepping out this way. My hand firmly shakes his. There's the man-to-man respect I thought would take a while to establish, but here it is; we can coexist now. "Alright Barrett, I like that. Thank you."

"Paige couldn't handle me anyway," he flashes a smirk to her and turns to walk away. As a guy, that actually forces a chuckle out of me.

"Dickhead!" Paige rebuttals. I hear the trademark Wade Barrett cackle through the walls.

You have no idea how much of a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. So much so that I breathe out something fierce that makes Paige retreat for a moment. I wrap an arm across her waist, "I feel so good right now!"

We leave the tunnel, "I'm relieved. Now that that's over with, what's next? I feel like there's another obstacle I'm missing..."

"You're meeting my parents tomorrow, remember?"

"Shit," she lets go of this nervous sounding laugh, "I mean, yeah, I'm totally ready."

"You'll be fine, babe. They're cool people. Just look at how I turned out! There's really nothing to worry about."

"You don't understand, I'm like a mess. I am a mess. Miz, I don't want your parents to see that you've moved onto a mess. What if they hate me? What if—" I take Paige's face and lay a kiss on the running mouth to shut her up. I really couldn't stand listening to her own destructive criticism.

We part, "Relax. You're not a mess. You're the most amazing, beautiful, talented, and loving girl in the world. When they meet you, they're gonna see that too. It'd be hard to miss because I fell for that girl pretty hard." The way her chocolate eyes say everything without needing a word to accompany them is enough to let me know that my job in calming her down worked. "So stop thinking that you're not enough, because you're more than I ever wanted."

Paige's arms automatically go around my neck and I hold her body close, "You're so sweet. I love you, Miz."

"I love you too." Realizing we're still in plain sight of the entire backstage area where Superstars can be found in every corner, we separate. I really hope none of the guys are watching...

Nope, they are. Guys like Ziggler, the Usos, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes (in full-on Stardust gear), among others, have created a small crowd around us. A few Divas are here too, while I'm counting. Some of the girls go Awww! while some of the guys clap and holler.

"Alright, alright, nothing to see here. Move along," I say, trying to lessen the potential humility that I'll get back in the Superstars' locker room. Looking down at Paige, she's turned into fifty shades of red, starting with tomato. She covers and buries her face into my chest, giggling. They all pat me in the back before following orders.

Finally alone, she glances up to me with a gigantic grin, "I'm a mess right now."

"Yeah, well, you're my mess." I throw an arm over her shoulders. We trek back to the locker rooms, ready to wrap up another show. With the long day off ahead of us, it feels absolutely comforting ending this long week on a good note.

Next chapter, Paige meets Miz's parents! What do you think will happen? ;)