Disclaimer: I am not the proud owner of the WWE nor do I own any of its superstars, divas, personalities or likeliness'. I am simply a fan who only owns the original characters that you read in this work of fiction.

Chapter One:
These Hard Times

It'd be a good change of scenery was what I was told. I was also told the pay was better. However, that wasn't even enough to convince me that it was the best decision. Not that it was much of a decision on my part, I didn't have any choice or opinion in this matter. I worked for WWE and as a good employee, I did what my boss told me to do, and at the present moment he wanted me over to Raw for an undisclosed amount of time. It was strange, leaving Smackdown, my home and the only brand I had ever worked for throughout my time with WWE, to go over to their flagship show. Lilian Garcia was leaving and the announcer spot was open and waiting to be filled reluctantly by yours truly.

It's not that I wasn't grateful for the promotion or that I didn't like change and had a problem leaving Smackdown. It would actually be fun mingling with the other girls and finding out what exactly made Raw better than Smackdown. The problem with all this was leaving John. He was the reason I put in an application with this company, and he was the reason I was so happy to wake up every morning and the reason I looked forward to Tuesday's more than any other day of the week. According to my best friends, it was truly sad - I'm twenty eight years old and regretting getting a promotion that most girls would cry for, all because of some guy. Pathetic.

I did a double take in the mirror; my blonde hair was slicked back into a high ponytail, I had used a lot of hair products to reduce the natural frizz, my eyelids were coated in a white shadow, matching the color of my skin's creamy white tone, my eyelashes were covered in mascara, each lash carefully separated from the other, which to be honest took me nearly twenty minutes, and a clear gloss had been spread across my lips. My attire consisted of blue jeans, a Beatles V-Neck tee with simple black combat boots. Casual. Just like John and my relationship because I'm not brave enough to risk it all and tell him how I feel.

Sighing, I walked away from the bathroom mirror and into the diva's locker room which was nearly empty. The show had ended not too long ago, but I had to change out of those revealing clothes and get into something more comfortable. The clothes that the WWE wanted me to wear weren't that bad, and had gotten less revealing as the years went on. Due to the PG rating that is, I was majorly grateful that my boobs didn't have to pop out of my too small shirt anymore and my butt wasn't exposed by me wearing a skirt that barely covered my ass.

"There you are." Melina said standing up from the couch, where she had just been tapping her foot impatiently. It was clear that she was ready to call it a day and leave this arena behind.

"Here I am." was my reply as I neared the diva. Melina and I weren't that close, that was for sure, but we didn't have any problems with each other. We simply tolerated each other for John. She was his girlfriend, and as much as I hated to admit it, the one he was in love with. I was his best friend, and exgirlfriend, the one, as he would say, that is like a sibling to him. But that's impossible because sisters aren't supposed to feel this way about their brothers.

"John's waiting for us." she grabbed her sports bag and hoisted it up on her shoulder in a swift movement. I walked forward to grab my own bag off the only table in the center of the room. John, Melina and I usually got together after a show with some other superstars and went out to get a bit to eat or go to a club. Since it was my last night and he (and the rest of Smackdown) was going overseas in the morning he decided it would just be him and I. That was until Melina decided to crash our plans, much to my dismay.

"Bye, girls!" I called, causing them to look up from what they were doing and frown at me.

"I'm going to miss you!" Maria was the first to react, running over to me she threw her arms around my slender build, almost causing me to fall back on my ass. Luckily we were steadied by Eve who joined the hug. I could see Melina rolling her eyes from behind Maria's head. Out of all the divas on Smackdown we were the closest and most genuine, in my opinion. Now don't get me wrong, the WWE is like a family and as women in this company we usually stuck together but sometimes, you can't count on family. With the WWE, there was only one match per show to accommodate the divas and with all those divas just hanging around in the back waiting for their shot, they were hungry. Give them the opportunity and they would turn on their best friend without a second thought. But with Eve, Maria and I it wasn't like that. We were genuine with each other and I knew I could count on these girls.

The other divas muttered a goodbye and gave a slight wave in my direction, knowing I probably wouldn't see them tomorrow as they were set to leave early and I would return home to L.A until Sunday, where I would fly out to Albany, New York where Raw was scheduled to take place the very next day.

The hug was broken and we said our last goodbyes before I followed Melina out of the locker room. "I bet you're going to miss them." she commented. I nodded, even though she couldn't see due to me walking a few steps behind her. "Yeah, but I'll see them next week for the anniversary show." I finally answered by time we hit the parking lot. The cold air made me shiver a bit and then I realized I should've at least brought a jacket with me. Summer way dying out and it was now apparent by the temperature that fall was approaching.

It was almost like Melina and I – she's summer and I'm fall. Summer was a time for fun and vacations, the weather was hot and dry and sexy in a way - there were a lot of people wearing bikinis and revealing clothing. Fall was the time of year where school was back in secession, it was colder and got dark out earlier, it was a time for change as the leaves fell from the trees bring fourth the coming of winter. Oh…and it rained nearly all the time. Fall was like a small little placeholder between the summer and winter seasons, something to get you ready before the transition into the coldest months out of the year.

Between Melina and I, she was the more outspoken of us. She took on a natural leader role, even if she wasn't anything like she was onscreen. I was a keep to myself follower type. I was shy in the sense that meeting new people made me nervous and I always got butterflies when being in a crowed. I thought I had lost the shyness trait once I left high school and went onto college to study communications, but it's always been there. Only difference is now I'm able to mask it and lock it away. Usually when I'm doing ring announcing or backstage interviewing a wrestler. Even then, it's scripted and I'm just acting a part. It's not real and it is not me. If I did display the real Ruby Irene Miller I'm pretty sure the channel would be changing because I am a nobody and damn sure am not entertaining. That's probably the reason Melina's the one who gets to kiss John's lips and wrap her arms around him. She gets the honor to go to sleep and wake up next to him and I have nothing of the sort, I am nothing of the sort.

It was quiet as both of us walked through the parking lot. We had both been driven to the arena by John so it saved us the trouble of having to look for the car in a full parking lot when we already knew where he parked. The car came into view and I could see John leaning against the passenger's door chatting to Matt Hardy, who's rental was right next to his. Once we were close enough I could make out what the two men were saying but the stopped talking when they noticed Melina and I.

I smiled at Matt, "Hey." I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He and I had been friends since I came to the WWE. I was a nervous wreck before an interview I had with him (my first interview I would be doing on television), he had helped calmed my nerves by reassuring me I would do fine and since then he and I had been friends. Not best friends, but casual friends. We mostly hung out with a group of friends rather than one on one, which was completely fine with me because I was sure we'd run out of things to talk about.

"Hey, sweetie. Enjoy your last night on the blue side?" he asked with a small smile.

"Eh, it was just like any other night. I don't want to leave though." I admitted to him.

"Well, if you have a problem with anyone on Raw lemme know and I'll be sure to handle it." he joked.

"I'll be sure to do that." I half-laughed, amused by his comment but butterflies settling in at the thought of being away from what I've become accustomed to for the past three years. I shook the nerves away and put on my best smile.

A smile which Matt mirrored, "Alright, I have to get out of here…" he trailed off, his gaze going behind me before shaking his head. I turned around and noticed Melina walking away with Dave Batista, her exboyfriend.

"Looks like it's just you and I tonight." John told me, capturing my attention as he opened the passenger's side door he had previously been leaning on. I walked to the car and was about to get in when I looked at him and rested my hand on his shoulder. "Cheer up… just because he's back doesn't mean you're losing your girl. She loves you, you love her. Even he can't get in the way…they're just friends." I reassured him, knowing that he was feeling rejected, as I often felt every time he left me alone to be with Melina. I also felt jealousy as well, but that emotion is irrelevant at the present moment.

"I know they are." he told me. "Just like us –"

"No, not like us." I interrupted him. "We're going to be best friends for a long time coming… you're kind of stuck with me, Hennigan." I gave him a pitying look, but was truly glad that I could hold onto him even if it wasn't in the way that I wanted.

He laughed and patted my head, I scrunched up my face. "You're cute, but don't look so pitiful, being stuck with you isn't a bad thing…until you get drunk and start singing Queen songs at the top of your lungs."

I smirked, "Well, I guess tonight will be a bad night for you then." I didn't listen to his reply as I got into the car, I watched as he shook his head in amusement, turned around and said something to Matt, both of them glancing at me, before they gave each other a man-hug and got into their separate cars.

Once John started the car, he turned to me. "Hotel bar?" he grinned wickedly.

"You know it." I grinned back just as he pulled out of the parking space and then out of the lot.

…And that was how I ended up on top of John Hennigan topless while singing "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy" by Queen at the top of my lungs. I wasn't drunk though, just…tipsy.

"You know, for being petite, you're pretty heavy." John told me, cutting me off from the song.

I sighed happily and rolled off of him and to the spot on the bed next to him, the spot that Melina usually filled. "Sorry, sorry, sorry." I said, waving my hand in the air as if it were nothing.

"Whoa," he grabbed my hand and pulled it in front of his face examining it, "someone needs a manicure."

"I do not!" I scoffed as if I were offended.

He released my hand and I pulled it in front of my face examining it. He was right, I did need a manicure.

"I don't want you to go to Raw." his voice was so low that if I weren't this close to him I wouldn't have heard him.

I grabbed his hand with the one I had been examining before, our fingers now were intertwined. "I don't want to go either... but hey, we don't have a choice in the matter." The room filled with a comfortable silence, "'Sides, it's not like we won't see each other between time off and pay-per-views."

"It's not enough." he turned from laying on his back to on his side and hovered over me. His hand went to the back of my head and he released my hair from its ponytail. He ruffled my hair and I scrunched up my face as some of my hair got into my line of vision. He pushed the hair from out of my eyes and behind my ear. "You're so beautiful."

I let out a slow breath and had the sudden urge to kiss him. But I had to stop myself, like I've done so many times before. "You're buzzed."

"Maybe, but I don't have to be buzzed to do this," he leaned forward and placed his lips on mine. If I were sober I would've pushed him off of me and reminded him about his girlfriend. But not only had I been waiting for this kiss since forever, I was just as buzzed as he was, and at that moment I didn't care about his girlfriend. I didn't even think of the consequences, I just gave into temptation. I kissed him back, running my fingers through his hair as our lips got reacquainted, and before long he was taking off my jeans and once again, I didn't object.

That morning I awoke to my phone alarm ringing loudly in my ear. It had been a surprise to me because I hadn't set it, and after a moment of just blinking and realizing I had a throbbing headache I figured John must have set it for me. Which is a good thing because if he didn't I would've probably missed my flight. I had an hour to get ready and drive to the airport. Needless to say I was in a rush that it hadn't hit me until I was in the shower that I had woken up naked. The events of last night clouded my head and in the middle of washing my body I was rendered speechless.

I had wanted this to happen for so long, but once it happened why wasn't I bursting with glee? The answer was simple, the liquor had clouded John's judgment, he was with Melina, and he had been hurt by her because she chose to hang out with Batista, her ex, instead of him. Melina knew how John felt about her with Dave, but still, she went with him anyway. He didn't have sex with me because he wanted to get back together with me or still had feelings for me, he did it because he was buzzed.

Feeling guilty and like crap, I got out of the shower and left the bathroom in just a towel. I walked over to my suitcase that had been brought into John's room before the show last night, and grabbed my zebra underwear set, plain blue jeans, and my black Queen shirt before throwing them on with some socks and my combat boots. I also took out my zip-up hoodie that was about three sizes too big and threw it on. I put my hair in a messy ponytail, not even bothering to brush it, and threw my hood up over it and zipped up the hoodie.

I grabbed my discarded clothing and walked over to the nightstand to unplug my phone charger. Once it was unplugged, I put that and the dirty clothes in my suitcase. I looked around making sure that I didn't forget anything before I noticed a piece of paper on the dresser. Curiously I walked over it and picked it up, recognizing the handwriting to be that of John Hennigan. I dropped the paper as if it burned my hand and it fell to the floor. 'We need space' was what it had read. I didn't bother to pick up the paper, the cleaning staff would get to it when they came to do their rounds.

Glancing down at my phone, I noticed that I had thirty minutes to get to the airport, I didn't mull over the note (but there was no doubt I would as soon as I got back to my apartment), maybe it wasn't meant for me. But in the pit of my stomach I knew it was. John wanted space because we had sex and he regretted it, he regretted me. I grabbed my purse and my suitcase and left the room, letting the door slam behind me as I moved swiftly down the hallways towards the elevator.

Before I boarded the plane I took out my phone and dialed John's number. It went straight to voicemail which didn't surprise me. He always worked out in the mornings, and when he did he turned off his phone. Sighing, I turned off my phone before boarding the plane. I sat there and rested my head against the window as tears began to cascade down my face. Was this the end of John and my friendship? I had felt just as I had the first time we broke up, even though we didn't break up this time, it was the same because I had lost him again…. Somehow, this time didn't hurt as much as the first one did. Maybe this was a sign that I would be okay, that in time I could really get over him and move on. But I didn't want to. I wanted to be with John, who was pretty damn sure was the love of my life. Not wanting to dwell any longer, I grabbed my ipod and put the buds in my ear. The first song that played was These Hard Times by Matchbox Twenty. The music was so loud that it drowned out the pilot because before I knew it we were taking off.

Goodbye Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Hello Los Angeles, California, USA.

A/N: Ohh, look...chapter one! This is so much better than that stupid prologue I have posted lol. I hope this is a good chapter length and you all didn't get bored reading as much. So...she and John slept together, too bad he's dating Melina and now he wants space. What's up with that? Pssh, seems like John has some problems to sort out as does Ruby. Friends sleeping together makes things really complicated when one person is in love and the other is dating someone who they think they're in love with. GOOD NEWS! Legacy comes in next chapter and I'm kind of excited for you all to read it. I love how I wrote Cody, oh and you'll get to see more of Ruby's personality. She's a tad bit emotional and over the top which kind of annoyed me a bit while writing her but I think it's sort of comical. I'd love to know what you think of this chapter so please let me know. I've been unsure about whether I should continue working on this fic, since the idea was from over two years ago, or come up with a fresh story idea and work on that instead. So I'd love to hear opinions if you have one. But anyways, thanks for reading! -Tiff.