Welcome to Chapter Thirty Three! I hope you enjoy this one~
Smackdown: February 28, 2014
Edited: 8/6/19
Chapter Thirty Three
Dean sighed as he stood there at the airport. Seth, Roman, and him were standing in the corner, with hats and hoodies on; trying to stop themselves from standing out which almost always made them stand out more.
Every now and then he would catch someone looking over at them and cock their head as they tried to figure out what they were doing. He hated all the prying eyes.
"Why did we have to wait inside of the airport?" He asked as he watched a handful of people walk past. None of them being the small brunette that they were waiting for.
"Because we told her we would." Roman answered as he picked his head up from the wall.
"Who the fuck thought that was a good idea."
Seth shook his head at him and looked down at his phone. "Chill dude, not much longer. Her plane just landed."
"Good."
About twenty minutes later another handful of people walked out of the terminals and instantly he recognized one of them. "Hey Angel!" He called over not giving a care in the world about all the people around him.
Seemly startled Angel turned towards them, her wide eyes softened as she made her way over. "Wow this is Deja Vu." She sighed. "At least you don't have an embarrassing sign, like my parents did."
"Oh man, we should have done that." Roman teased her as she made her way up to them.
And that's when it happened, their eyes locked. Damn it. He sighed as glanced away from her quickly and gave his neck a crack. This wasn't good. He knew that Seth and Roman would pick up on his awkwardness. Damn it! What the fuck am I doing? It wasn't like him to be awkward because of something like a kiss. A kiss didn't mean anything to him, he kissed so many girls just in the ring alone. And to top it off he couldn't even remember it so why the hell was he getting awkward about it.
As if trying to make a point to himself, he glanced back at her to see that she was now facing away from him, talking to Seth and Roman about how her break went. Whatever point he was proving to himself seemed to be working that was until he noticed her glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes. His mind seemed to freeze as he felt his chest tighten for a moment.
"You hungry, Babygirl?" Roman asked.
Her eyes left him and went back to the Samoan. "I could eat."
"Then why don't we grab some food and head out for the BMO Bradley Harris Center?" Seth smirked.
"Sounds good." She smiled.
As they turned to start heading towards baggage, he saw what he was dreading and that was Roman and Seth giving him little smirks that told him what he feared. They noticed that he was being awkward.
The whole time they spent grabbing Angel's bags from baggage claim, and the few times they were stopped by a couple of fans; he was waiting for something to happen. Something. Anything. He knew that it was going to start he just didn't know when.
That was until they got to the rental car. Seth got into the driver seat like normal, but as he went to get into the passenger seat, Roman stepped in from of him with a huge smirk on his face.
"Shotgun." He called.
There it is. He let out a deep breath as he pursed his lips at the man. "Alright." He nodded his head. He should have known that they would pull something like this. They both knew he hated being in small area's and now he was going to be stuck in a small backseat with Angel.
Making sure to keep his eyes locked on Roman, he slowly made his way over to the back door and opened it. Roman though just gave a small chuckle before opening his door and ducking into the front seat.
Taking a deep breath, he turned to slide into the car, only to come eye to eye with Angel as she got into the car as well. He sighed as he watched as her face grew red as they both got into the car. He could hear the quiet snickers coming from the front of the car.
"Changing it up?" She asked gave him a weird look.
"Yeah, I guess so." He said making sure to lean forward so that he was talking right into Roman's ear. "Hey man, you mind handing me my drink." He said reaching forward and pointing at the bottle of water that was sitting in the cup holder.
"Yeah, no problem man." He quickly handed the bottle back.
"Thanks." He sighed as he smacked Roman with the bottle, before leaning back in his seat. he made sure to jam his knees into the back of Roman's which earned him a glare; which he made sure to answer back with a shrug of his shoulders.
If they were going to make his ride a living hell, he was going to make theirs hell as well.
A.A.A
The lump in her throat grew as she sat there in the car. Her eyes traveled over to the man beside her and sighed. She didn't think that this would be as awkward as it was. Dean had called her over the break to apologize about kissing her while drunk, they already talked it out. But still sitting next to man made her started to panic.
And it only grew worse because she realized that Seth and Roman were the ones putting them together like this. At first, she thought nothing of it when Dean sat in the back with her when they pulled out of the airport. There weren't assigned seats in the car, Dean and Roman could switch if they wanted to. But then when they got to the restaurant for lunch and Seth practically knocked over Dean so that he could get into the booth next to Roman; making what they were doing plain as day.
She gave another glance to the man next to her. Surly he must feel the same as her, right? She scanned his face for any signs and came up empty handed. In fact, his face seemed almost blank as he leaned back in the seat with his eyes closed. If she didn't know any better, she would have sworn that the man was asleep.
"Show time." Roman sighed as they pulled into the back entrance of the arena.
"Remind me why we had to come tonight?" Seth sighed as he pulled into a free parking spot.
"Because we were asked to." Angel sighed as she unbuckled her seatbelt. She felt the same. It didn't make since. The Authority had taken away their match tonight, so there was no reason for them to come. They could have spent one more night at home and flown out to Cedar Rapids, Iowa tomorrow for the house show. But no, they were asked to come anyway, because in wrestling anything can happen, and they might be needed.
The four of them quickly got out of the car, grabbed their bags and made their way into the arena. Where they were greeted with hellos and handshakes all around.
Becoming a normal in their routine, one of the boys walked her to the meeting room after putting their things in the locker room. This time it was Roman who was her walking buddy.
"Have a good meeting." He nodded as she made her way through the door.
Taking a deep breath, she made her way around the large table to find Renee and an empty seat. "Hey girl."
"Hey!" Renee turned in her seat, before quickly getting up and giving her a hug. "How was your break?" She asked as she sat back down in her chair.
"Good. Too short." She laughed.
"I know how you feel." Renee sighed. "When I get home, sometimes I don't want to leave."
"Oh..." She bit her lip as she debated to talk to Renee about what happened between her and Dean.
"Alright everyone let's get this thing started." Stephanie and Hunter walked through the door.
Angel glanced at her bosses and sighed. "I'll tell you later."
The meeting was the same as always, long and really only used to go over what they already known about the show tonight. The Real American's would have a match against Big E and Mark Henry, Cameron would verse AJ Lee for the Diva Championship and that the main event of the night would be a three on three tag match with the Usos and Daniel Bryan vs Kane and the New Age Outlaws.
"We do have some time to fill so…" Hunter turned towards Vickie Guerrero. "Don't be scared to put a few more matches in the mix."
"Oh I won't." She smiled as she looked up from her phone.
Angel let out a huge sigh. Maybe they wouldn't have so much time to fill if they didn't take the boys' match away from them. It was so pointless for the boys to be here…or was it? Maybe she could get Hunter and Stephanie to give them another promo. Maybe?
Looking up at the power couple in front of her, she shook her head. There was no way. Stephanie and Hunter were clearly mad at the Shield for last Monday Night Raw, there was no way that they were going to give them some screen time.
Timid yes girl. Dean's words hit her hard. He was right. She was just a timid yes girl. And she knew that Hunter and Stephanie knew it as well. They knew it since day one, when Stephanie called her into her office and 'asked' her to be the Shield's valet.
Though, maybe she didn't have to be.
Quickly her hand shot up into air and judging by the look on Hunter's face when he noticed it, he wasn't prepared. "Angel?"
"Um." She swallowed down the lump in her throat as everyone turned towards her. What a time to decide to take control. In front of everyone. "So, I know the Shield isn't getting a match tonight." She stated knowing that everyone was probably ready for her to ask for one. "But what about a promo spot?"
She watched as Hunter and Stephanie looked back and forth at each other.
"I mean, it's kind of pointless for the boys to be here. They're just going to be sitting around in the locker room until the end of the show. And at least this way, their fans will get to see them."
Stephanie nodded her head as she looked down at the notebook on the table. "We have Batista starting the show, a promo from Rusev and Lana, and the Wyatts also want a spot…."
The Wyatts have a promo? Her eyes widened.
"You know what." Hunter placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "You got the promo."
"What?" She wasn't expecting them to give in.
"You get it, but not because the Shield deserve it. Because they don't. You get it because you asked like a manager whose thinking about what's best for her client." Hunter explained. "Keep up the good work."
Baffled she leaned back in her chair and let out a huge sigh of relief as she let the rest of the meeting drone on. She couldn't believe that that worked. That she got the promo for the boys. Now how could they make good use of that time?
D.D.D
"Get dressed boys!" Angel's voice echoed through the locker room, making everyone in the room turn towards her. Which made her stop for a moment, but after giving a smile at the room she quickly made her way over to the three of them.
They had resorted to playing 'throw the pen into the tile ceiling.' And he was in the lead, getting the pen to stick three times while Roman and Seth both only got it twice.
"Wow, where's the fire?" Roman asked.
Angel took a moment to catch her breath before giving a huge smile. "I got you a promo."
"Oh?" Roman raised a brow.
"That's great and all…." Seth sighed. "But it doesn't make up for the fact that we don't have a match tonight."
Dean nodded his head agreeing with Seth. It was nice that they weren't here for nothing anymore, but it was ridiculous that the Authority took away their match in the first place. He let out a sigh as he glanced over at Angel, expecting her to look down and out. But that's not what he got.
In fact, the huge smile that was on her face hadn't faded at all. "I knew you were going to say that." She told them. "Think of what we can use this promo for. You can use it to call out the Wyatts."
"Again." Seth sighed again.
Finally, the smile fell as she turned towards Seth. "Oh, come on!" She sighed. "Are you really down and out about not having a match?"
What? He was taken back by the girl in front of him. Was she really calling them out on being upset about not having a match? Of course, they were. In this business going one show without a match could end up killing a career.
"Really?" She asked again. "I'm surprised."
"You're surprised that we're upset about not having a match?" Roman asked. "Angel that…"
"Who are you?" She cut Roman off which visible shocked the guy. "Who are you?"
"Roman Reigns?"
She shook her head. "Who are you as a whole?"
"The Shield."
"And what does that make you?"
"What?" Seth cocked his head.
"What does that make you?" She repeated herself as she looked at each of them.
What did that make them?
"The Hounds of Justice." She answered herself.
His eyes widened and locked onto the girl in front of him. She couldn't be saying what he thinks she's trying to say, could she?
"You are the Hounds of Justice. The ones that write the rules. The ones that make sure to bring justice where there isn't." A mischievous smirk came to her face. One that made his heart seem to skip a beat. It was like that moment back at the photoshoot, he couldn't take his eyes off her.
"You wanna know what I think? I think that it's a huge injustice that you three have to sit out tonight because of a DQ, while Bray Wyatt who has done nothing but cheat to win gets to go out to the ring and call out John Cena. He gets to move on…After causing John Cena to lose the Elimination Chamber match." She paused as the smirk faded. "After what he did to me. That just doesn't seem fair, does it?"
"Just to be clear." Dean took a deep breath as he put his hand on her shoulder get her to stop and look at him. "Just to be clear, are you saying that you want us to go and rain a little justice down on Bray Wyatt while he's calling out John Cena?" He asked looking her in the eyes. "You want us to defy the Authority and go down to the ring and whip some hillbilly ass?"
"What I'm saying is that I'm surprised that the Hounds of Justice are standing by and letting such and injustice happen right in front of their eyes." She let out a giggle as her face turned red.
"Alright, alright, alright." Seth clapped his hands together. "Get dressed because it's show time."
Dean slowly rose from his chair as Seth and Roman scrambled threw their things to get their ring gear. After making sure that they weren't paying attention he made his way over to Angel and stood next to her. "So. Where did the 'timid yes girl' go?"
Face growing even redder, Angel looked up at him as she bit her lip. "She's still here." She sighed as she tapped her chest. Which made him notice the nervousness in her eyes. "Trust me, she's still here; but I'm trying."
"Good." He gave her a wink. "Now Miss Manager, let's get ready for some justice."
A.A.A
After the boys got dressed and ready to go for their promo, she ran out to the production team and asked for a camera. She then met the boys back in one of the dark unused areas of the arena. As she got things set up, Seth, Roman, and Dean talked about what they were going say.
"You cool with that?" Roman asked Dean.
"Yeah, that's cool." He nodded his head as he played with the tape on his wrist.
She wondered what they were talking about, but knew the boys were professionals and that she didn't need to worry about anything. "You guys ready?" She asked as she finished tinkering with the settings on the camera.
"I think so." Seth nodded his head.
With a quick glance to Dean and Roman, she hoisted the camera up on her shoulder and framed the boys so that they were all in the view finder. "Ready when you are." She pressed record and watched as they got into places facing her. Roman in the middle with Seth on his left and Dean on his right. Roman and Seth were looking at Dean who was still playing with the tape of his wrist.
"You got yourself together tonight?" Roman started the thing off. "Or are you going to go rouge on us again?"
As she got closer to the two men she watched as Dean looked up and let out a scream and made her jump slightly.
"Watch yourself." Roman said as Dean turned towards him.
"Always telling me that I need to relax, alright. I think you're still a little bit mad about the DQ thing." He said as he leaned around Roman and looked at Seth. "He's still mad about the DQ thing."
"The DQ thing?"
"He's bringing that up again."
"It's a thing?" Roman said as she stepped back to get all three of them in frame.
She watched as Roman and Dean went back and forth about the DQ while Seth seemed to increasingly annoyed. What were they doing? This was supposed to get them hyped to go take on the Wyatts. This was supposed to make sure the world knew that they weren't done with the Wyatt's but yet they were arguing.
"Look I don't know what you want from me, alright." Dean said getting back into Roman's face
"Guess what a DQ is a loss!"
"You want my help, you don't want my help." Dean shrugged his shoulders as he looked once again to Seth.
"Two losses in under a year in a half, two losses in under one week. Why because of you!"
Angel's eyes widened but she didn't say anything and didn't move. She couldn't believe that Roman was bringing this up. Couldn't believe that he was blaming Dean for both losses.
"Maybe if you weren't always YELLING AT ME ALL THE TIME!" Dean jumped into Roman's face.
"Hey! Hey!" Seth finally spoke up and got both of them to stop and look at him.
"You listening to this?" Dean pointed back at Roman.
"Zip it, alright." Seth told Dean who went right back to playing with his tape. "You know what you lost, alright." He looked at Roman. "You got knocked back down. You're a grown man, pick yourself up, move on."
There we go. Seth always the voice of reason.
"You know whose moving on? Bray Wyatt thinks he moving on."
"No, he's not." Roman shook his head.
"He thinks we're ashes in the wake on his path to John Cena." Seth paused as looked towards Dean this time. "In case you don't remember, we were left for dead at the Elimination Chamber."
She almost gasped as she looked from Seth to Roman to Dean. Roman was looking down at the ground as he grabbed the top of this vest, with his hair pulled back she could see plain as day that his jaw was locked and that there was a fire in his eyes. While Dean was mostly in the shadows, she could barely see his face but knew that the man wasn't happy as Seth gave them his 'pep talk', he was twitching and moving about to the point that it was difficult to keep in frame.
"Well let's show Bray Wyatt that's it's not that easy to get rid of the Shield." As Seth's voice rose the energy in the room did as well as. Roman fixed on of the snaps on his vest as Dean gave the man a couple of hits to the chest. "Let's show Bray Wyatt that we not three lone wolves, that we are the Hounds of Justice and we run together, always! Let's show Bray Wyatt that when you provoke the hounds you GET the teeth!"
"Strap up boys!" Roman yelled as Dean started to laugh and dance around. "It's time to hunt some Wyatts."
As a unit all three men put out their fist.
"Well that was….wow." She was lost for words as she put down the camera. Just as she thought, the boys knew what they were doing. They really knew how to really amp up the mood. And amp up the mood they did. Right now, even she felt like jumping around on the balls of her feet like Dean was.
"And now we wait."
And wait for it they did. After handing off the camera they went back to the locker room and waited forty minutes for their chance to go on that hunt. Her eyes were locked onto the match that had been made at the beginning of the show tonight Batista verses Dolph Ziggler and as of right now Dolph was getting the crap beaten out of him.
Bray was supposed to get his ring time right after the match. Which meant that it was almost time to head out.
She looked back at the boys and took in the looks on all three of their faces. Each of them was blank, as if they weren't about to go and wreak havoc on the Wyatts. The only give away that they were even slightly revved up was the fact that all three of them keep playing with their gear. Roman kept unlatching and latching his vest, Seth constantly was fixing his gloves and Dean was applying his third round of tape since the first two ended up waded up and in the garbage.
"Batista Bomb!" Michael Cole called as the match came to an end.
She let out a big breath of air as the bells ran for the end of the match. This was it. Once the Shield went down to the ring there was no turning back. No more timid yes girl. She knew that Stephanie and Hunter wouldn't be happy about this.
"Go time." Roman said as Smackdown went to commercial. Without another word the four of them rose from their seats and made their out of the locker room. Taking their time, they made their way down the hallway towards the top entrance.
She watched as the few people who were out in the hallways getting refreshments and merch looked at them with wide eyes. It was just the four of them. No guards, no crew members to walk with them. Just them.
"What are you guys doing here?" A guard did ask as they got to the top entrance.
"Get our music cued up." Roman told him.
"What?"
"Do it." Dean growled in the man's face.
"You're not scheduled to go out."
"We'll go out with or without our music, we've done it before." Seth pointed out as Roman pulled Dean away.
The guard seemed taken back but quickly reached for his radio. "Cue up the Shield's music."
"Oh, but don't start it yet." Seth smirked. "Wait for my single."
The guard relayed the message to whoever was on the other end of the radio and Seth, Roman, and Dean hid themselves in the entrance way as they listened to Bray rattle on and on.
"And I will whisper into his ear." She could hear Bray talking but couldn't see him and instantly her heart started to pound. This wouldn't be the first time she came face to face with Bray Wyatt since the Elimination Chamber, but it sure did feel like it. Every inch of her being told her to stay away. But she was the one who started this, she was going to see it through.
"John Cena, it's time to end this lie…." Bray finished. "Follow…"
"Now!" Seth called back to the guard.
"…the buzzards…"
Sierra. Hotel. India. Echo. Lima. Delta. Shield.
The Shield's theme played and the arena went nuts. Dean quickly made his way through like man on a mission and as soon as he was through the door, she felt a hand on her back give her a push.
"We're not taking any chances this time." Roman told her as he gestured for her to follow Dean. Stumbling slightly, she tired her hardest to catch up the man that was practically running down the stairs.
When they got to the bottom of the steps, Dean turned back towards her quickly. "There's a chair." He told her.
"Alright." She knew that meant that he wasn't going to stop and help her over the barricade. And he didn't. She watched as he hopped over the thing and made his way right over to the steel steps with a look that could only be described as pure anger on his face. Though she only got to catch a glimpse of his face before it was her turn to conquer the barricade.
Using the chair, she got herself up and over the thing without any major problems and quickly made her way over so that she was standing behind Dean. And that's when she locked eyes with the men in the ring. A chill went down her back as Bray smiled at her.
"Stay behind us." Dean leaned back slightly as Seth and Roman met them by the steel steps.
She gave a quick nod as all three boys lined the side of the ring. With a rush of energy all three men hopped up onto the apron and locked eyes on the three men in the ring. God today was full of Déjà vu.
Time almost seemed to stop as the six men squared off. It was like each of them were waiting for the other to make a move. She watched as Bray's mouth moved but due to the over whelming cheers from the crowd she couldn't hear what he was saying. All she knew that was ever it was made Dean glance back at Roman a few times as if asking for permission to attack.
Behold the king. The king of kings.
Her eyes widened as the Authority's theme rang through the arena. She knew that they wouldn't be happy but didn't think that they would respond this quickly.
"Fuck!" She heard Dean yell as he hit his hands off the ropes. She knew, he knew that Stephanie or Hunter or both were about to come out here and stop what they had planned. And apparently so did Bray as he turned his back on them and faced the stage. Which at first, she thought was stupid until she noticed that Luke Harper and Erick Rowan still had their eyes locked on the boys.
"Enough," Hunter started as the music in the arena died down. "This is not going to happen now. I have too much time and money invested in all six of you to let this war happen again, right here right now."
The crowd booed and Dean started to pace back and forth on the apron at the news.
"At least not without some promotion." Hunter continued. "This war can take place this Monday; Monday Night Raw. The Wyatt Family can take on the Shield, but until that time….Shield stand down." Hunter pointed for them to back the way they came.
She watched as Hunter just walked backstage before glancing up at the three me in front of her on the apron. She could feel the tension rolling from each of them. Roman and Seth hadn't moved since Hunter came out and Dean, well was being Dean.
The crowd booed as slowly the Wyatts made their way out of the ring. Though when it was just Bray on the apron, he turned with a smirk on his face before bringing up the mic that was in hand still.
"Go on boys, you heard your daddy." He laughed.
She cringed as she glanced back at the boys. She knew that they would never let a disrespectful jab like that go. It didn't matter what Hunter had said. But what she saw when her eyes landed on them shocked her. All three of them where looking back at her, as if they were asking her for permission.
Blinking, her heart warmed. She found it sweet that they were waiting for her call. She knew it was killing them to hold back, killing them not to just rush in a beat the Wyatts' faces in. But yet they waited for her answer, and she knew that if she shook her head; they would back down.
Taking a deep breath, she held her head up high, crossed her arms and gave a nod. Just like that three of them made their way into the ring.
To her surprise, Bray answered the call and took a few steps forward to meet Roman in the middle, before throwing the mic out of the ring.
Cocking her head, she realized that Seth and Dean were standing back; not keeping in line with Roman like they would normally, and that Dean and Seth were giving little glances back and forth at each other.
What do you two have planned? She asked.
And like that she got her answer. Seth made a small gesture and both Dean and he took off across the ring pass Bray. Her eyes widened as they both jumped through the ropes in sync, Suicide Diving onto Harper and Rowan who were standing on the floor just outside of the ring, waiting for their leader.
As soon as both men were on the ground, Seth and Dean jumped back to their feet and made their way right back into the ring and right back to Roman's side.
"What now!" Seth called as he got to his spot.
She couldn't help but laugh and clap her hands at the show. That was beautiful.
"Come on! Let's do this thing!"
D.D.D
Boos ripped through the arena as Bray slowly made his way back towards the ropes. He was running, again. I'm getting sick of his shit. Dean took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down.
Though even as he tried to calm himself, he noticed Luke Harper and Erick Rowan getting up from the ground after Seth and him just planted them there. He also saw the look in their eyes as they made their way towards the ring, only being stopped by Bray himself.
His eyes locked onto Harper's as the man half climbed up onto the apron. "Oh, you want to go?" He asked as he stepped forward. "Please, I beg you get into this ring." He said as he heard Seth going nuts as well.
Though Bray just put up his arms and slowly pushed Harper and Rowan backwards. It took everything he had not to go after the three men. He even had to force himself back as he made his way towards the ropes to do just that.
He wasn't going to be the one to fuck up, not this time. As he paced he noticed Angel had climbed up onto the apron, behind them. She must have figured this was going nowhere and how right she was.
The Wyatts theme started to play and that was the final straw. Trying his hardest to keep himself from snapping, Dean started to pace back and forth, letting out a couple choice words every now and then. Only stopping when Roman reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Calm down man, it's over." Roman sighed. "We'll get them on Monday."
"Run away!" He yelled after them. "There will be nowhere to run on Monday!"
Brookeworm3: I'm glad that you liked the chapter and her parents! It was really hard to write that chapter and I really nervous about it.
Skovko: I'm glad that you like that chapter. I believe that every once in a while Dean is good to show his soft side. Hope you like this chapter as well.