CHAPTER ONE

CORRINNE

Corrinne Casey had never been good at sitting still. During her amazing six-year career on the independent wrestling circuit, she had had nearly twenty different entrance themes, each more badass and punk rock than the last. She was especially fond of Linkin Park. Corri was known as the girl of many entrances and many signatures. She hadn't quite been able to settle on one style or one finisher or one anything. She liked variety. That was part of why, after two years on NXT with an additional six entrance themes, Creative was still unsure of how to package her. She was twenty-six and felt more than ready for main roster status.

Her twin Cayla was easier for Creative to work with. She was sugary and cheerful, colorful and very feminine. It was clear Cayla was a babyface for life. She only changed her music every couple of years and although she had the ability to do almost any move known to man or woman, she stuck to a specific set of signatures and finishers. Cayla and Corri were technically identical, but it was very easy to tell them apart. Cayla's hair remained its natural blonde color and she wore shades of pink and baby blue most of the time, while Corri changed her hair color nearly as often as she changed her bra and wore punk rock clothes, many of which were black.

She knew Creative had immediately wanted to package them as rivals to the Bella twins, but both girls refused to change their looks to become truly identical. That wasn't how they rolled. The fact that they were twins wasn't a gimmick to make money off of, and although they always had each other's backs, they didn't need to stoop to tricks like Twin Magic to win. They were individuals, and that was what made them aweome. They liked tagging together, but they were also strong solo wrestlers.

It was a shock when Triple H himself approached the twins that day. Corri was more curious than anything, although it was clear to her that Cayla was nervous. He was their boss. Meeting with him could mean great news or it could mean they were fired. Corri knew they'd be fine either way, but being a WWE Diva meant everything to Cayla. She might not handle having to go back to the indies.

"Hi girls," Triple H greeted them warmly. He smiled at them, but Corri wasn't convinced that meant good news.

"Triple H," she said casually.

"Please, call me Paul."

First names, and not kayfabe ones? Maybe this was good news. "Okay, Paul. So what's up?"

Cayla looked at him nervously, flashing her brightest Cayla Smile. Corri saw through it, but no one else ever did.

"I've decided it's your time," Paul said.

"For what?" Corri asked, since Cayla had apparently been scared mute.

"The Casey Twins are moving up! The Divas division needs new blood, and we have some younger girls lined up to join NXT. Mercedes and Becky are getting the call, too."

Cayla squeaked out, "Oh my God!" She flung her arms around Corri, who laughed.

"Finally," Corri said. "I was starting to get bored."

"Congratulations. You girls have earned this!" Paul was clearly excited to be breaking the news.

"What about Pam?" Cayla asked.

"We feel the Bayley character isn't quite ready yet. Pam's great, but she needs some repackaging. Besides, Bayley and Alexa can stay down on NXT and help initiate the new girls."

Cayla nodded, but Corri knew her sister was sad for them. Pam and Lexi were great wrestlers and Pam had been at NXT for ages. They both deserved a shot to move up.

"So when does this happen?" Corri asked.

"Next week," Paul replied.

"So soon?" Cayla asked.

"Why wait?"

"Exactly," Corri agreed. Corri hated waiting for anything. She was downright homicidal at places like the DMV.

"We're still going to work you against the Bellas, but as individuals. Corri, you'll be against Nikki, and Cayla will take on Brie."

"Hell yeah!" Corri declared. She disliked what the Bellas stood for, and challenging them would mean the big leagues.

"So, congrats again. I'm going to go let team BAE know the good news." Paul walked away.

"Oh my God!" Cayla screamed. "We did it!"

"We're going to own the Divas division!" Corri said enthusiastically. She was so ready for this.

CAYLA

This day had played through her mind thousands of times, but Cayla couldn't have imagined how great it would feel. They'd finally made it after years of hard work!

Upon seeing Pam and Lexi in the hallway, she froze. She loved the two of them. How could she be happy when they hadn't gotten their chance, too?

"Oh my gosh, congrats!" Pam shoute, hugging her tightly.

"We're so happy for you!" Lexi added.

"You guys aren't mad?" Cayla asked.

"Why would we be mad, Cay?" Pam asked. "You two earned this."

"I feel guilty leaving you here."

"Don't be silly!" Lexi scolded her. "We love NXT and you guys are exactly what the main roster needs. It'll be nice to see someone challenge the Bellas."

"You two are going to be awesome," Pam insisted.

This was why Cayla loved Pam and Lexi so much. They were genuinely sweet and not petty and jealous like some of the girls in the business.

"We're going to miss you," Lexi said.

"I'm going to miss you both so much," Cayla said, tears brimming in her eyes.

"None of that!" Pam said, but she was crying, too, as she handed Cayla a handkerchief.

Cayla smiled through her tears. She truly had the best friends.

RANDY

With the main roster's schedule, Randy Orton hardly ever got to see his little girl. This killed him. She was the one good thing to come out of his marriage, but his ex kept her away from him a lot of the time. Today was one of the rare opportunities Randy had to fly home and be with her. Because of this, he was rushing through the lobby of the hotel he was staying at and didn't see anyone until he bumped into her and she fell to the floor.

"Randy Orton, outta nowhere!" The girl proclaimed with a laugh. He recognized her as the punk rock girl from NXT, although her name escaped him. They'd never met.

"Sorry," he apologized, extending his hand to help her up. "I didn't see you."

"That's okay," she said.

"Are you okay, um...?"

"Corri," she supplied. "And yeah, I'm fine. It takes way more than that to hurt me."

"Corri... Nice meeting you."

"You, too. Maybe next time, you can RKO me." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and Randy laughed.

"Sounds like fun," he replied. "I'm sorry, I have a flight to catch." He hurried away, conscious of her eyes still on him as he did. It wasn't unusual for newer Divas to flirt with him. It sounded arrogant, but it was the truth. He was a high card guy and had been for years. He was also a third generation legacy. A lot of girls thought being with him would help their careers. Sure, it was fun messing around with a bunch of attractive, athletic, and often extremely flexible women, but Randy was really sick of being used, especially by girls who tried to deny it. It might not be so bad if they just admitted they were in it for the fame and would just as easily shack up with John Cena if Nikki Bella hadn't cornered the market on him already.

Girls like Nikki Bella annoyed the hell out of him. She and her sister Brie had been fired but come back only a short time later. They immediately went for John and Daniel Bryan, arguably the two biggest names in the company at the time. Randy knew John better than anyone and he had no doubt John knew going into things that Nikki was using him. He was apparently fine with that arrangement. Poor, naive Bryan Danielson was another story however. He'd wanted to be that guy so badly that he'd been the perfect prey for Brie and her dreams of wrestling immortality. Now he was stuck in an unhappy marriage that he was contractually obligated to display for the world on Total Divas. That was the kind of life women like that led to. Randy had been used enough. He certainly didn't want to be used and stuck on a really shitty reality TV show.

"No Divas," he told himself, pushing the image of Corri out of his mind. "They'll only lead you on and sell you for parts." As he arrived at the airport, he promised himself he wouldn't forget that.

SARAYA

Saraya's head hurt. How much did I drink last night? She wondered. Her clothes from the previous night were still on, so she probably hadn't behaved too skankily. It's good to appreciate the small things, she thought with a laugh. She ran a finger through her long black hair and it got stuck. Her hair appeared to be quite tangled.

"Oh crap, where are my knickers?" She asked aloud as she realized she was quite naked beneath her dress. She sighed. So much for the small things. "Bloody hell... No more letting bartenders make up experimental drinks for you, missy!"

"Looking for these?" A voice asked with a laugh. It was Rosa, and she was holding up Saraya's lacey black knickers.

"Bleeding Christ, please tell me we didn't..."

Rosa laughed harder. "No, Saraya, we didn't. You came back here with Stu last night."

"Wade Barrett Stu?" She wrinkled up her nose in disgust. "What the hell was I thinking?! Let's blame the liquor, okay? Or just pretend this didn't happen at all..."

"Foxy and I tried to talk you out of it."

"Foxy was there? Oh damn... Is she mad?"

"She's worried about you, but I don't think she's mad."

"He's her ex. There are feminist rules against that."

"She'll get over it." Rosa handed her a bottle of water. "Sober up, girlfriend! We have plans today."

"It's our day off," Saraya whined.

"There are hot guys involved."

Saraya perked up. "Give me ten minutes!" She jumped in the shower and tried to wash Mr. Bad News off of her. Drunk Saraya sure knew how to pick 'em!

We'll say it was Paige. Yup, my character is responsible, not me, she decided. She prayed Alicia Fox wouldn't be hurt by what she'd done. She loved the girl like a sister. She had no interest in Stu, a prick who'd hurt her dear friend. She wanted to punch him, not shag him! She really needed to be more careful when she started drinking. Sure, she was young, but she wasn't an asshole, nor did she lack self-respect. This behavior was unacceptable.

In the precise time frame she'd given Rosa, she was ready. After double-checking that she was, in fact, wearing knickers this time, she smiled at her other best friend and said, "Let's go break some hearts!"