The concession lines began to grow longer as the game hit half time. Covington was down by 21 and fear was beginning to creep in. Not only within the fans, but with the players too.

The team began walking through the tunnel to the locker room. The fans were screaming things like "Good work" or "You still got this!" to the players to let them know that their confidence was still present. As the team walked to the locker room one sheep seemed to stray away from the pack. As the players were walking straight down the hallway Cody Rhodes took a sharp turn down the right connected hallway. No one seemed to notice except one cheerleader, Eve Torres. As the team scurried to their designated area she made her way down the hallway to follow him.

Cody was walking fast already but when he peaked his head back around to see Eve following behind him his speed quickened. As the brunette noticed his feet moving at a quicker pace she took charge and called his name multiple times, her tone grew more demanding each time.

Defeated, the receiver eventually slowed down and came to a halt. He listened as footsteps grew closer before releasing a heavy sigh.

"What are you doing?"
"I'm getting some fresh air Evie-bear, go back in."

Eve batted her eyelashes at the teasing, she continued. "You're going to get in trouble."

"I can take care of myself. You forgot I'm a Rhodes… my father funds this team, remember?"

"And suddenly you think that makes you significant?"

Frustration was written all over his face as he glared at her. You could see the slight quiver in his top lip. Cody went to speak but she beat him to it.

"You can't just abandon the team the first time you're losing."

"Why'd you even follow me Eve? Go do some flips or something."

The woman looked up at him and frowned. A sigh came from her glossed lips as she shook her head. "Whatever. You're right, you're Cody Rhodes you're too good for this shit. So leave, bail. I'm not surprised. It's not like you haven't left before." Eve turned and started walking back.

Cody rolled his eyes at that comment and continued walking. The two were growing farther and farther away before he abruptly stopped and turned.

"It doesn't..."

The cheerleader heard his voice through the echo of the hallway. Her head turned around slowly as she tried to make sense of his comment. "What?"
"It doesn't make me significant. You know…my name. My name and money is irrelevant. I know that."

Eve's green eyes looked up into his eyes. "Then why are you leaving?"

An unamused chuckle came from the man's lips as he shook his head. "I'm not leaving. I already told you, I'm going to get some air alone. I can't go in there with all of them, it's just a reminder…"

Eve listened to his words and sighed heavily. He didn't even need to finish his sentence, she knew what he was referring to.

"How many times do you have to be reminded that it wasn't your fault?"

"It doesn't matter what anyone says the guilt is still going to be present…and you didn't even notice."

"What?"

"Whenever I'm hiding something you could tell…and you couldn't." Cody's voice began to crack, you could feel the emotions that were coming over him. The man clinched his fists to hold himself together and he rested himself on the wall using his forearms. He breathed in and breathed out to try and reclaim himself.

It was becoming more and more clear that these Covington students were too far advanced for college kids. Each member of this student body was going through some sort of excessive pain. This weight that was upon each of their shoulders kept growing heavier and heavier.

Overwhelmed, Eve began to slowly walk over to her classmate. She placed her hand on his backside and began to rub as a way of comfort. Just this small act began to calm him down a bit. As she began to formulate words she felt her legs start to quiver.

"It's called a process for a reason. Soon you're going to feel better but first you have to make yourself try. You're not trying to get past this you sulking and I'm pretty sure you're not trying out on that field either."

His eyes began to move from the wall to her eyes. "But who cares about this game? Compared to everything else it's just a-"

"John does. John cares. He's putting all his energy in this game. I'm not even sure if he cares if you all win or not but he definitely wants to make sure you're trying so, make a change in the second half okay? For John."

The environment was different in the second half. This team came out to compete and it was clearly written on the score board. The score was now 28 to 34, Covington was down by 6. This game was now manageable. There was a minute and twenty two seconds left on the clock, all that was needed to win was a touchdown.

The Michigan State Spartans kicked the ball to the back of the end zone. Covington had to now make it 80 yards down the field within a little over a minute to carry home the championship. Emotions were high and it was surely game time.

Jack Swagger, the backup quarterback, hiked the ball and attempted to throw it to wide receiver Randy Orton for a 20 yard pick up – it was a little high, no catch. It was now second down. Swagger hiked the ball once more and was sacked to the ground as he tried to find an open man, he lost a total of 10 yards. That put the team in a bad position, now they had to travel 90 yards down the field in 48 seconds. That brought the team to third down, Swagger threw it to Randy Orton once more he could only gain a total of seven yards based on the shortness of the throw and the tight coverage. This was their last chance. They had to get at least 13 yards to have a chance, a little over 80 to win the game.

Cody Rhodes looked up at the time clock and then over at the sidelines. He saw his QB John Cena sitting on the sidelines with his hands in his face staring at the lineup. The nerves were written all over John's face as he waited to see what his team did. You could tell how badly Cena wanted to win this game – and that was all Cody needed. The wide receiver went from giving it his all into absolute beast mode.

Swagger hiked the ball once more and Rhodes ran full speed to try and get open. He fooled one of his defenders and got open enough for Jack to see him. The ball was thrown and Cody caught it. This young man began dashing down the field and taking the necessary turns and shifts to lose any defensive players trying to take him down. Not only did Cody gain enough to get a first down but he gained enough to get to the middle of the field.

Just when you thought the run was over and one of the defensive players were going to tackle him to the ground to end his drive Randy Orton had come up from behind to carry out the block. The whole field was now his own and the cheers of the crowd began to rise. To the 30, to the 20, to the 10, TOUCHDOWN COVINGTON.

It was unbelievable. The clock ran down to about 6 seconds to go and it was a tied ball game. Cody Rhodes couldn't believe the overwhelmingly good feeling that had come over him. The stadium was blowing up with enthusiasm. Every fan was now on their feet screaming at the top of their lungs.

A bunch of players that were on the field congratulated him and high-fived him, they couldn't hold in their excitement. The man ran quickly to the sidelines to his team mate, they celebrated together and hugged in excitement. The smile that was on John Cena's face in that moment was the biggest smile he's had in years. Cody handed John the ball that he held when he ran into the in zone for the touchdown.

Now all they could do was watch as the field goal unit ran onto the field to complete the game, the kick was good and the time was now out. They were now the Big Ten Champions, it was unbelievable.

The stadium only grew in noise as the last few seconds ran out. Cody Rhodes ran over the cheerleaders who were overwhelmed with excitement and went over to a certain cheerleader. As the man went to hug Eve Torres he also picked her up in the air and twirled around in pure joy. Eve held on to him and hugged him back with all smiles. "Congratulations" she yelled through her smile. What seemed like a happy carless gesture to most seemed like a lot more to one, Mike Mizanin who was in the student section went from being ecstatic to frustrated real quick. His clapping hands began to slow down as he watched.

They weren't the only ones overwhelmed with emotion. Barbie Blank ran into the arms of Dolph Ziggler as she pressed her lips against his to congratulate him on a job well done. They couldn't believe what had just happened. Finally for a few moments they were happy young adults living out the college experience without a worry in the world.

The team had all rallied around John Cena to celebrate. Several of the offensive players dumped buckets of Blue and Silver confetti all over him. It was a tradition after every big game to pour confetti over the team MVP which of course, was John.

Randy Orton looked up from his friend to the crowd to see a woman standing in the front row of the student section. Randy jogged over to Brie and pulled her in to a heavy kiss. The fans around them cheered and pointed at the couple as cameras came around to film the embrace.

The kiss lasted longer than expected, Randy couldn't bring himself to let go. As his lips pulled away he placed his forehead against hers. His blue eyes stared deeply into Brie's brown ones and his smirk only grew. Surprised by his actions the woman didn't really know what to say to that. A few helpless breaths were released from her part as she tried to recollect what just happened, she couldn't help but smile slightly.

"I've wanted to do that for a while now." Randy smirked as he made his way back in to kiss her once more. Brie couldn't help but pull herself in to kiss back, she placed her hands on the back of his neck with a smile.

As the two ended their embrace Randy's smirk turned into a smile as he whispered the words "I love you." Orton began to walk backwards without taking his eyes off of her. As Brianna heard those words her heart dropped and her smile turned into a blank expression, what was happening?

A couple of hours later there was an after party on the east side of campus and it was going crazy. There was beer, beer, and more beer. Smiles were written all over the students faces this evening.

Dolph Ziggler and John Cena were sitting on one of the couches discussing the game together when Barbie Blank came up to the pair with all smiles written across her face. The blonde turned to look at Cena to congratulate him on the MVP award. After he thanked her she turned her head to Dolph and raised her eyebrows at him to signal him that she wanted to talk.

As Dolph went to respond by getting up to his feet his friend beat him to it.

"Don't worry about it, I'll leave you two alone. I need to go get a drink anyways." John smirked softly as he rolled away to the snack bar.

Barbie thanked him with a soft giggle as she watched him leave, she looked back at Dolph and had a funny look on her face, and quickly he knew something was up. Dolph's blue eyes peaked back to see that the woman was hiding something behind her.

"So I have something for you. Kind of a present for both winning the game and your birthday. I picked it out a few days ago."

"You already gave me a present for my birthday." Dolph smirked softly as he reminisced.

"Yeah but giving you sex with me for your birthday is so cliché and I wanted to give you something less kinky… plus I told you this is half for your birthday and half for the game so it's okay."

Dolph chuckled softly and nodded his head. "Alright but you picked it out a few days ago? What if I lost the game?"

"Well I knew I didn't have to worry about that."

The man smiled softly as he looked up at her, he enjoyed the confidence she had in him. "So what'd you get me?"
"Well it's kind of corny. I had talked to AJ and she said something about vintage video games but I didn't like that idea so I wasn't going to do it… I'm usually really good at this gift giving and well..." Barbie could feel herself start to ramble on so she took a deep breath and just handed him the bag that she was holding behind her back. "Here."

Dolph smirked softly as he grabbed the bag from her hand, he pulled out a picture frame to see a photo of Barbie as a child dressed up as a turkey. Instantly Dolph began to laugh due to both humor and confusion.

"And you're laughing…" Barbie sighed softly in embarrassment, quickly he was confused.

"Wasn't that the point of it?"

"No! That was one of the most embarrassing days of my childhood. It was a school play and I had wanted to be a stupid zebra and they assigned me to be the ugliest animal and when it was my time to say my line I started crying and ran off stage. I was trying to show you a vulnerable moment to symbolize my trust for you and it was….stupid." The blonde bit her lip as she forced a chuckle.

A smile ran over his features as he looked up at her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto his lap. "I love it, I think you make a very cute turkey…plus I'm glad that you trust me."

Barbie rolled her eyes playfully as she sat in his lap. She began playing with his fingers as he spoke.

"Now that you've shown that you trust me. Can I trust you with something?" All she did was nod. "What would you say if we made this official?"

A smile spread across her glossed lips as she glanced over at him. "You men us as…"

Dolph nodded, "Boyfriend and girlfriend… I don't know something like that."

Barbie smiled softly and nodded her head. Quickly she leaned in to kiss his lips to seal this moment. A smile spread widely across his features as he pulled her in closer to him. A couple years in the making and finally, she was his.

Over on the other side of the party stood Eve Torres pouring some alcohol from the keg into her red solo cup. The woman was having a small conversation with one of the other cheerleaders as Mike walked over to them. When the brunette saw him walk up quickly her expression changed and her smile began to widen.

"Hey baby." Eve smiled as she pulled him into a quick kiss.

"Hey." Mike responded with very vague emotion.

"What's wrong?" Responded Eve as she took a sip of her drink.

"You know it's funny. When this thing between us started out wasn't I supposed to be the untrustworthy one?"

The expression fell from her face as she raised an eyebrow to question him. "What are you talking about? I'm not trustworthy?"

"Apparently not."

"Alright then enlighten me."

"I like that little move you and Cody did at the end of the game. I felt like I was watching some sort of cheesy romance, it was touching."

"We were excited?! He basically pulled a miracle in the last couple of seconds in the game-"

"And you're the one he runs to?"

The woman grew quiet, she wasn't quite sure on how to respond. A painful smirk spread across Mike's face, in a way he wanted her to respond.

"Look I know that those flowers weren't from anyone anonymous it was from Cody. Also not to mention there were two people that didn't make it back to the locker room. I asked Randy who it was after the game and guess who he said, you and him. Is that some miraculous coincidence?"

"No, I stopped him from leaving. He was hurting and-"

"You were there to help him? You know I'm starting to wonder if your feelings are really genuine or if you just like helping broken things. Hints to why you even took notice in me in the first place."

The girls jaw dropped, "I can't believe you just said that. That's really what you think our relationship is? That I care more about fixing you then you"

The Miz was breathless as he tried to articulate some words together. He shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "I don't know."

The Latina shook her head and laughed in frustration. "This is ridiculous!" Throwing her drink down Eve stormed out of the building leaving Mike to follow.

"Where are you going?" The man asked as he walked a few steps behind her.

The brunette swung open her car door and pulled a small shoe box out of the side glovebox. She stepped out of the car to see him only a couple feet away from her. She opened the box with rage and exposed a bunch of miscellaneous items.

"After the accident I thought it would be a good idea to group together the things that reminded me how amazing it was to be alive." Her hands trembled as she picked up a tiny rhinestone that sat on top of all the items.

"This is a rhinestone from that dress that you and Phil helped me pick out before you took me to that stupid masquerade ball. That was the moment that I was positive that you liked me because I knew you wouldn't be caught dead in one of those events."

His blue eyes stared at the rhinestone as she dropped it back into the box, she picked up another item. "This is one of the socks that I wore the first night that I slept in your bed the time Maria kicked me out. Remember when I complained about not being able to find any? Yeah, I lied." Eve pulled out another item, this time it was a toboggan. "This was the first present you ever gave me. It was back when Phillip, Maria, you, and I used to hang out every weekend and you bought me some cheap gift for my birthday. These are some of the things that I hold onto and look at when I'm at a red light to remind myself of the small things in life… And you think you're just some project to me?"

A heavy sigh came from her lips as she tried to regain her frustration. "I think ever since you even started liking me you've been looking to push me away and it's not fair. I also think that's why you're using Cody who you know is no threat to break us apart. Mostly I think that's why ever since the accident you haven't said I love you one time…."

Mike's eyes looked a little frightened after she said that. "I heard it when I was in the coma and ever since I have been desperately needing you to tell me it again… Do you even love me?"

Tears started to come out of her green eyes, Miz quickly moved closer to her and wiped her tears away with his thumb. "Of course I love you…" A laugh couldn't help but break through his words, he couldn't believe he had actually said it out loud for someone to hear. He approached the top of her head with a soft kiss. His lips began to move while they were still attached to her skin. "I love you so much that it scares the hell out of me. Eve Torres, I want to be yours so bad I'm lost I don't know what to do or what to say." Mike repeatedly kept kissing the top of her head as he held on to her.

Eve held onto him tightly. "You already have me…you don't need to worry anymore."

The man closed his eyes and began to relax. "I love you, I'm sorry."

"I love you too."

5+ reviews for update

Wow! This one took a whole month to do and I'm sorry but for good reason. This was the longest chapter I think I have written for the series so far (maybe tied with homecoming) either way this was a very fun chapter to write! Also I started my job and got straight A's any who I hoped that you enjoyed this chapter and can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Two more chapters left you guys! One in present tense while they are still in college and one in five years in the future so that you can see where EVERY character is in the future. YAY! The next chapter will be up sometime in November and the other will be in December. This story will be ending in 2015! Hope you enjoyed you guys.