A/N – So I had kind of planned this as a one-shot but I decided to continue. Not sure where it's going to end up going or how many more chapters after this, but I have some ideas. So, enjoy part two and give me some feedback if you can. Thanks!

Joe closed the locker room door behind him, thankful that he was finally alone. Although judging by the clothes heaped in the corner and the fact that he could distinctly hear the sound of water shutting off, he knew it was only a matter of time before Jon joined him.

This wasn't really a problem. After all, he and Jon were best friends. They had come up in the business together, sharing time at FCW, and then got even closer as they spent time both inside and outside of the ring united as members of the Shield.

As close as Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose were, Joe and Jon were even closer.

And while seeing Jon and shooting the breeze would be a nice distraction, Joe was still feeling pretty down. Although his talk with Paul had helped a little, he still just didn't get it and it got to a point where that was really starting to wear on him.

What more did he have to do to get over with those people if getting beaten to a bloody pulp didn't do it? They felt no sympathy for him so if anything, Vince's plan had backfired.

Traditional and perceived heel/face dynamics were being thrown out the window, shot to hell even, if this was going to be the reaction, the result. So if tonight had done anything, it was simply that, providing a preview of what could and likely would happen at Wrestlemania.

Joe saw the writing on the wall. Roman Reigns would enter as the babyface and Triple H the heel, but it wouldn't matter. Paul's character would be cheered and his would be booed and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop it.

Honestly, it was incredibly frustrating, especially given just how much effort and hard work he had put into building himself as the best superstar he could be. He had spent a whole year trying to get over with these fans and it was easily the most trying period of his entire career.

But then, something magical happened, something miraculous even.

It was early in December when it happened, about 11 months after the Royal Rumble where he was booed out of the building, which no, was not an exaggeration. But it was in that same place, that same arena in Philadelphia.

The turnaround really all began at Survivor Series. He wasn't the favorite to win the title by any means. In fact, most fans still booed as they had wanted Jon to be the champion. But for those five glorious minutes and 15 sections, everything was good. Joe had been told prior to the show that there would be a cash-in so he was prepared. What he wasn't prepared for however was for the fans to actually kind of start to rally behind him.

This continued leading up to TLC and again after. Joe had given Paul a scripted beating meant to show a sense of frustration at continually being screwed coming to the surface. He unleashed a side of Roman Reigns that night that fans had never seen and they loved it. It was the first time in a long time he remembered getting cheered. It was as if they actually wanted him to be champion.

Joe got to see that theory tested as that next night on Raw, back in Philadelphia, he won the title to a reaction of excitement and yes, cheers, actual cheers. At first he wasn't sure if the crowd was just cheering for the sheer unpredictability that was a title changing hands on TV and not a PPV, but when the fans began to chant, "You deserve it," he knew that they were cheering for him.

There was no greater feeling. That horrible year had been put behind him. He was ready to move on as a champion the WWE universe could respect.

But as quickly as the adulation came, it was gone.

Joe never imagined that the year of hard work would be washed away in less than two months and that he would be back to where he started, entering a Wrestlemania main event as anything but the guy the fans want to see leave as champion.

Two months ago he was the one giving the senseless beating and being cheered for it. Now, he was made to take a similar beating while his opponent was the one getting the cheers.

In fact, if it were possible, Joe thought he might have even been in a worse position than before. Because at least he didn't walk out champion at that Wrestlemania. When he did this time around, he knew the sound would be so loud he wouldn't be able to hear himself think.

Although maybe that wasn't such a bad thing given his thoughts these days seemed to center around the lines of if being in the WWE was really worth it after all.

There was just short of one year left before his five year deal signed back in 2011 would be expiring and he would be a liar if he said he hadn't at least thought about leaving the company. In fact, he had been outright dodging calls from Mark Carrano, who was informing him that it was almost time the two sides came to the table to discuss a new deal.

It wasn't really that he wanted to leave, it wasn't that at all. It was just he wasn't sure that mentally he could handle it anymore. He was a good guy, a decent guy, and these fans just wanted him to fail. He did have thick skin but hearing them cheer his assault that night was kind of the proverbial straw to break the camel's back.

Joe took a deep breath as he heard the bathroom door creak open. Thinking like this would get him nowhere, especially with Jon around. That man could read faces, especially his own, better than anyone, and the last thing Joe wanted or needed was for Jon to see that something big was dancing around in his mind.

He hadn't even made a decision himself so there was no use talking about "what ifs" and "maybes" anyway.

So instead of dwelling on those what-ifs and maybes, Joe just smiled as he made eye contact with his best friend.

"Hell of a segment you had back there with Brock," he said, hoping to steer the conversation for as long as he could. "How's your head holding up?"

"Ya mean after last night?" Jon replied sarcastically. "After Brock basically botched that suplex and could have broken my neck? Yeah, I feel just dandy."

Joe just nodded. "Yeah, it normally takes until the second or third one that he figures out your body weight and how to perfectly land you. I would know seeing as I took about a dozen, not all of them that pretty."

This didn't really do anything to help Jon's mood. "You'd think after losing Bryan to concussions and Will (Christian) before that, that maybe we'd get a little more accountability on head injuries. I mean Brock has always had a reputation as not being the safest worker but dude could have ended my career."

"And yet, you didn't raise a single complaint when Vince told you this morning you guys were going to have a match at Wrestlemania," Joe smiled.

Jon threw the towel he had been using to dry his hair at his friend before smiling and laughing himself. "What's life without a couple of risks?"

Joe shrugged. "Guess you're right about that."

"Of course I am," Jon replied. "But enough about my Wrestlemania match, let's talk about yours. Paul made that ass kicking look real good out there. Sure there were no accidental injuries, ya know AOPs I should be worried about?"

Joe just rolled his eyes. "I know that you're not really a fan of the boss's son-in-law but he's a pro's pro, he would never do anything like that. If you're referencing my shoulder then yeah, it probably got tweaked when I was fending off the whole League of Nations. Not even 100 percent positive it didn't happen last night."

"Maybe, maybe not," Jon shrugged. "Just saying you've got to watch out for the guy. Colbs didn't and look what happened to him."

"Colby got injured because he landed awkwardly trying to powerbomb Glenn (Kane) off the top rope," Joe corrected. "Not Paul's fault."

"Paul booked the match so, was his fault," Jon continued to argue.

Joe put his hands in the air in retreat. "You're clearly in a confrontational mood so I'm waving the white flag. Let's just drop the topic about Paul okay?"

Jon relented, realizing his playful banter had seemed to strike a nerve, which given how close the two men were, certainly was a rare occurrence. "Sorry man, it's just, normally you're not so quick to defend the guy. Did something happen recently I should know about?"

Joe took a deep breath. "It's nothing really, just that, well, let's just say he can be a pretty decent guy when he wants to be. He's not always that asshole you remember from back during the Shield days. He's mellowed since then and I think NXT is a big reason why. We weren't really down there all that long but look at Colby. Paul genuinely cares about him. I think he does about all of us, all of you know, the NXT guys."

Jon raised his eyebrow curiously. He had never heard Joe talk so, well, kindly about Paul before. Frankly it was a little weird, a little… suspicious.

"Just don't go joining the Authority on me okay?" he said half-jokingly. "Dean Ambrose wouldn't be too pleased at that development. He might even have to kick Roman Reigns' ass for it. Ya know, in character."

Joe couldn't help but laugh at the prospect of the heel turn it would take for him to join the Authority. It was something that he had considered in the past and it's not like he had never done it before. After all, his first WWE role was as a heel, just this bad-ass, takes no prisoners, muscle of the Shield.

He liked that Roman Reigns, he missed that Roman Reigns.

And not to mention, he was already being treated like a heel. He was being booed for being attacked. Babyfaces don't typically draw those kinds of reactions. The fans had turned on him and he was pretty convinced they hated him. So why not go dark side for a while? It would allow Vince to pretend like the boos were just a result of heel heat, even if they both knew any negative reaction was still more a result of him being hated by the crowds.

So yeah on the one hand, it made sense, it made a lot of sense.

On the other, there was no person more stubborn on the entirety of God's green earth than Vincent Kennedy McMahon. He would not rest until Roman was the top face of the company, even if his efforts thus far had been disastrous at best.

Booking him to defend the title in the Royal Rumble, of course having him draw the number one entrant spot. Yeah, those things worked for Steve years ago but there was no way it would work for him. And it didn't. He could feel the tension building. No one wanted to see one vs all where one was victorious from the top spot.

And then the match itself. He had talked to Paul about it beforehand and begged him to tell Vince to reconsider. But, much to his lack of surprise, Vince was deadest on the idea. Joe was to be attacked by the League of Nations stable and forced to the back early on in the event.

Well, just as he expected, the Orlando crowd, who had seemingly picked up the booing right where Philadelphia had left off, didn't want him to win from the start. When he returned, of course, with only a few guys one of them being Jon, still in the ring, he was greeted to a very negative reaction. Again, it may have surprised Vince but it didn't surprise Joe at all. He knew there was no way he'd get away with leaving the match and when he came back no-selling any sort of injury, which to be fair was a mistake he made on his own, he knew the crowd would be as angry as they were.

At that point, they had been pulling for Allen (AJ Styles), they had been pulling for Chris, they had been pulling for Jon. Hell, they even started pulling for Stephen (Sheamus) at one point, much as Philadelphia had cheered on Miroslav (Rusev) the year prior. And then at #30 came Paul and they started pulling for him.

Joe knew the plan had been to have him and Paul as the final two in the ring, but he also knew the crowd reaction would play into it. So when he returned to the ring, Joe gave Jon and Paul the signal from Vince. Paul proceeded to eliminate him and the crowd went wild.

He knew that the fans didn't really want Paul to win, but at that point they knew he wasn't going to and that seemed to be all that mattered. Not to mention, Joe knew the fans wanted to believe that Jon had a shot at winning the title just like at Fastlane even if they probably knew he wasn't going to as much as the guys in the locker room did.

And again, bringing everything back to that terrible booking. Joe didn't understand how it made sense to put him in the middle of a feud with Jon and Brock and then literally make him an afterthought. Leading up to Fastlane, the narrative had become a David and Goliath sort of thing with fans wanting to see the Dean Ambrose character conquer the Beast. But Joe, he didn't really play into it, not until the end.

So in addition to fans, especially the know-it-all IWC who most of the guys in the back couldn't stand, already being annoyed that he was going to win and main event Wrestlemania like they pretty much knew would happen all along, they had something else to be mad about and that was the fact that they didn't even want him in the match to begin with.

But the booking woes didn't seem to deter Vince who continued to try to work Joe's character as a top face, a Cena 2.0 so to speak, by having him attacked by Paul. Well, clearly that had the complete opposite effect and now here he was, back where he had been a year ago, back in a place where he wasn't sure he wanted to be much longer.

"Hey, yo, earth to Joe, earth to the big guy," Jon said, finally causing Joe to jolt from his own thoughts.

"Sorry, didn't realize I,"

"Went like radio silent for five minutes?" Jon finished his sentence for him. "You were really in your head there. Did this have to do with what I said about Paul? About the Authority? Look dude, I was just messing with you. If that's the creative they've got in mind, I won't stand in the way. Well, I won't stand in the way much."

Joe smiled. "Always injecting your patented wit huh?"

Jon shrugged. "Someone's got to lighten up this room. Ever since Raw went off the air tonight, I,"

Biting his lip nervously, Jon forced himself to pause. He knew Joe was in a bad state right now and talking about Raw or even Fastlane probably wasn't the best idea.

"Maybe it is a better idea to just talk about my match," Jon said quickly, hoping to change the subject.

Joe just sighed. "I appreciate what you are trying to do but its fine. I know you probably really want to talk about Fastlane. We can. It's fine. I'm fine."

"I'm probably going to regret this but are you?" Jon asked despite his misgivings.

Joe shrugged. There wasn't much else he could do. Was he fine? No, not really, but it wasn't as if he could tell Jon that. He'd want to help and Joe wasn't even sure if he could.

"I'm the heir apparent to the greatest throne in sports entertainment," he said light-heartedly. "Why wouldn't I be fine?"

"Right," Jon said.

"I'll ask them to turn me heel," he added somewhat out of the blue. "I'll ask them to turn me heel and just go after you like crazy and we can play up the betrayal thing and people will feel for you. That will get your over. That will get the crowd back on your side."

Joe sighed. He wasn't really angry. After all he knew Jon had good intentions, but this was exactly the problem with Paul. He didn't want their pity. He was sick of people – the guys in back, the guys on creative, some of the fans. He was sick of people feeling sorry for the fact that he couldn't get over with the WWE Universe.

"Thanks but no thanks," Joe said simply, hoping to avoid a fight.

But Jon couldn't just leave well enough alone.

"Are you sure, I've been wanting to let loose as a heel anyway and this is the perfect opportunity, plus the crowd loves me and,"

"I said no dammit," Joe exploded, his fists slamming the metal cabinet door. "And what you just said, that's why. They cheered Paul, freakin' Triple H. That guy has been the top heel for years, maybe ever. How the hell do you think they would react to you? You're move over than the damn moon. You start beating me up as a heel? You'll get that babyface pop you always have. So, you want to help me, how about I stop having to tag with you, stop having to show up in your defense. Every time, every time when I play the hero, I end up with shit on my face not you. They'll never cheer me over you Jon. It's just the way it is."

He saw the look on his friend's face and immediately felt guilty. "Sorry," he deadpanned.

Jon just shook his head. Honestly, he was still kind of in shock because in a lot of ways his character and Joe's character were both based off of very real personality traits. Like Roman, Joe was the calm and collected one. He wasn't the type to just burst into anger like that. No, that was more Jon's MO and of course Dean's as a result.

So knowing Joe as well as he did, Jon realized this must have really and finally gotten to a breaking point after all these agonizing months. Jon could only imagine, key word, what his friend was going through. He wished there was something more he could do to help but given the way his last offer was received, Jon decided for now, maybe the best thing he do was give Joe some distance.

"You don't need to apologize," Jon said, already knowing exactly what he was going to do next.

Joe just looked up at him, the pain and uncertainty evident on his face. "I do," he said softly. "Jon, I never meant to,"

"No," Jon interrupted. "It's fine. I get it. I'm not the right person to help you. Not out there in the ring, not back here in the locker room."

"You're mad at me," Joe replied.

Jon bit his lip hesitantly before shaking his head. "I'm not mad, not really. I just think its best if for now, maybe I give you some space to sort things through ya know? You and I are kind of at different places right now."

Joe nodded slightly. He couldn't disagree. It wasn't that he begrudged Jon any of his success because he didn't, not at all. He just didn't want his pity and more than that he didn't want Jon to feel guilty. And as well as Jon knew Joe, Joe knew Jon the same. He knew if he allowed himself to explode again, he'd end up telling Jon everything and that wasn't what either of them needed.

"Being in different places," Joe repeated with a slight chuckle. "That never got in our way before."

Jon shrugged. "Neither of us were ever coming off of the kind of situation you are," he said, choosing his words carefully. "We're always going to be friends, closer than brothers."

Joe smiled. "I'd hate to bring you down with my crap, not when you're right there, climbing the top of the mountain."

"That's why I think you should talk to someone else, someone not me," Jon replied, handing Joe his phone, a specific contact showing on the screen.

Joe arched his brow and Jon just shrugged, almost as if to say, "It can't hurt." But then he got in the real reason for his plan.

"They say misery loves company," he smirked as he threw on a jacket, zipped it up and headed for the door. "Seems like right now you both could use each other."

Joe continued to stare at the phone, still not sure about Jon's suggestion.

"Give him a call, but you know, with your phone" Jon added as he walked back into the room and grabbed the object from Joe's hand with a smile. "I know you have his number. At the very least, I'm sure he'll be glad to hear from you. Who knows, maybe he'll have a unique perspective to offer on whatever it is you can't talk to me about. He's always good with that."

Planning to follow through with calling his old friend or not, Joe couldn't argue Jon's logic. So he took out his phone and dialed the familiar number.

"Here goes nothing."