#aboutpower

@aboutpower, Nikki said "your hair looks really nice today."

In another world, another universe, the compliment could have been genuine. Perhaps it could have been enough to bring a smile upon Paige’s face that wasn’t entirely fake. Years of torment delivered and torment received from Nikki left paige sighing outward as she turned to face the Bella twin. Absolutely no good could come from this. “You know I've seen Mean Girls, right? Regina George? That’s what you’re going for? Or are you too old for that movie?”

Her smile punctuates her words as Paige’s hands come to cross against her midsection. Her mind was running on overtime to try and decipher just exactly what it was that Nikki could have been playing at. Try and get the upper hand on the situation before they were clawing at one other's throats before lunchtime. Perhaps she truly was desperate and scraping the bottom of the barrel for an ally. Both of them had pretty much burned every other bridge they had ever made so….

“Hey, Nik, I’ve been thinking.” No greeting, no hi, how’re you? Just swooping in, left hand touching one shoulder lightly and the right scooping up the title draped over the other. A quick kiss to the temple, as if to placate her in light of having snatched up her most valued possession, and then Dolph was stepping back, prize in hand and a grin on his lips. He made quick work of buckling the belt around his own waist, striking a ( rather ridiculous ) pose once it was secured, ignoring that it was a much tighter fit than any of the men’s belts. 

“I was right,” Dolph announced, continuing as if Nikki had even had a chance to engage him in conversation. “I do look great with this belt. Guess you’ve found your latest challenger.” He dropped her a wink, not making a move to undo the belt and hand it back, seemingly content to wear the pink butterfly belt that Nikki had stabbed so many backs to get.

The whole week had been beyond stressful, seemed neverending when all the pressure piled on top of her and she was delivering less than savoury news to athletes who didn’t want to hear it. Peace and quiet was sorely lacking, everyone needed their once over during or after an event and it was her responsibility to make sure they were good to go.

5:37pm was when she finally managed to grab a moment alone. Dinner was just around the corner and none of them were in the habit of sharing company with any of the medical staff when they had stomach’s to fill. Ella had just started to busy herself with tidying up the room when the door had sounded. It was a quiet knock, not meant to scare her. She waited a couple of short moments and then the knock sounded once more, whoever it was didn’t want everyone to know that they were visiting.

Pulling her hair out of the ponytail she had it in, she made her way to the door and opened it. She was greeted with a pair of hands holding large cups of coffee, a wide smile crept up her face before she could stop it. Seeing Sami had slowly become something she had expected. The first time it was a ‘sprained ankle’, next it was a ‘sore elbow’, with each following ailment more ridiculous than the previous.

paige was glowing white-hot, like the edge of a knife that had been freshly smelted. pale cheeks were flushed with a ruby red that extended deep under the surface. all that paige could see was red ----- and red just happened to be synonymous with nikki bella. her name alone was enough for paige to want to claw out her eardrums. she hated nikki. she wasn’t the type to have nightmares, yet here she was. waking up in hot sweats and image of her holding paige’s belt haunting her well into each day. it was like paige had a sick obsession with trying to prove herself, that she could beat nikki. could get back her title... so why couldn’t she do it? what was holding her back? she refused to believe (or admit) that perhaps, nikki was in fact, better. she’d rather shit in her hands and clap then admit to anything so absurd. 

 sometimes,  you  did  things  that  amazed  even  yourself.  something  you  never  thought  you  would  be  able  to  do.  becky  was  living  that  right  now. 

 she  wasn’t  sure  what  it  was  about  nikki  that  made  becky  want  to  give  her  a  chance  when  no  one  else  would,  she  couldn’t  put  an  exact  finger  on  it.  could  she  be  setting  herself  up  for  another  disappointment?  another  boot  between  her  shoulder  blades  and  a  pain  that  would  haunt  her  for  months  on  end?  abso-freakin-lutely.  but  somethin’  felt  different  this  time ‘round.  she  knew she  wasn’t  as  close  to  nikki  as  she  was  to  her,  less  pain  to  go  through  if  the  unthinkable  were  to  happen. 

 oh  well  ----  if  no  one  had  taken  a  chance  on  a  weird  little  irish  girl  all  those  years  ago,  she’d  still  be  back  in  ireland.  what  rights  did  she  have  not  to  take  a  chance  on  nikki?  no  one  else  was  gonna  do  it. 

 it  was  foreign  to  her,  this  feeling  of  pride for  someone  other  than  herself.  it  was  strange  and  left  a  taste  in  her  mouth  she  wasn’t  sure  was  good  or  bad.  but  nonetheless,  it  was  there.  everyday  felt  like  a  new  experience  with  sami.  everyday,  she  was  learning  something  new  about  either  herself  or  him.  paige  never  thought  she’d  have  the  ability  to  even  let  someone  past  the  walls  she’d  built  for  herself,  never  would  have  thought  it  would  be  sami  brave  enough  to  climb  them.  she  wouldn’t  say  that  they  have  been  knocked  down,  she  still  had  her  reservations  and  attitude  mostly unchanged  to  the  rest  of  the  general  public. he  definitely  found  his  way  over  them. 

 the  swelling  feeling  beneath  her  rib  cage  when  his  hand  had  been  raised  as  the  victor  was  undeniable.  the  tweaking  of  her  lips  into  a  small  that  would  have  been  undetectable  to  most,  was  on  display  for  him  as  she  found  him  on  his  way  back  to  the  locker  room.  her  smile  was  reserved  for  sami,  and  sami  alone. 

How much longer could Becky pick at her nails? Find the dead ends of her hair and split them? Focus her attention at a speck on the ground that would refuse to budge? Minutes, hours... Probably days if she wanted. Distractions weren’t coming like she hoped that they would have. Phone checked over and over, both hoping for there to be an unopened message and nothing at all. This was ridiculous. She was being ridiculous. 

Staring at her phone for… longer than what she’d like to have admitted, Becky pulled up his contact number. Stared at the last set of messages. You should come. Becky’s throat grew dry, her hands sweaty. Memories of that night flooded through every inch of her, seeped down through her pores to her bloodstream to… — Get it together, Becky.

contact: sami zayn.

[ sms, delivered ]:   hey! [ sms, delivered ]:   i missed you today [ sms, delivered ]:   like missed you backstage not miss you miss you 

She wanted to slam her phone into the concrete floor, hope that it created a crater big enough that the world would open up and swallow her whole. 

[ sms, delivered ]:   you eaten yet?

‎‎‎‎‎‎ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ" why would i lie to you? " said brie.

Becky Lynch was many a thing, good and bad. But being taken for granted was higher upon that list than what she’d like to admit. Years of being the ass of the joke or the afterthought of a partnership left her with some… insecurities. Caused her to keep her friends at an arm's length, abrasive to anyone who thought they may have found a new friend. Becky swore to herself that the days of being a stepping stone on the way to someone else’ success were done with. Becky swore even harder that she’d never trust a particular pair of twins, either. She was already apprehensive enough about teaming with Nikki, now she had @aboutpower whispering in her ear.

Perhaps Becky should just tell them both to shove it and go home.