Mara walked through the hallways on Smack Down and sighed to herself. She was excited to be there. It was a fresh start for her. A break from the drama she'd been embroiled in when Phil had taken the storyline a little too seriously. She'd tried to ignore it at first. Tried to brush it off. But he started spending more and more time with AJ and it had all come to a head backstage one night.

XXXXXXXFlashbackXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What the fuck is your problem Mara?"

"My problem? You're the one walking around here with this huge ass chip on your shoulder. You're the one who was in AJ's locker room for three hours earlier. You're the one who's completely blown off your friends because you've got that fucking belt around your waist. You've changed Phil and I don't like it."

"I'm the same as I always was. You just can't see it. I've worked my ass off and when I finally get the least little bit of respect, you want me to give it up so that I can spend all my time with you? No fucking way that's going to happen. If you'd love me, you'd be more understanding."

"The same could be said for you. I think we need a break. I'm going to head home."

"Pack while you're there. We need more than a break. We need other people in our lives. I think we're done. I talked to Vince earlier. You're being transferred to Smack Down in a few weeks. As soon as your storyline with Randa and Mike has run its course." He said as he walked out of the locker room.

XXXXXXXXXEnd of FlashbackXXXXXXXXXXX

She'd been on Smack Down for a little over three months now. Mostly backstage segments. But she'd been promised a match against Layla soon and she was looking forward to it. She looked down at her phone as it rang and rolled her eyes when she saw it was Randa.

"What's up?"

"Just calling to check on you girl. It's been nearly a week since we talked last."

"I'm doing alright."

"Liar. But it's understandable. You're one of the most talented divas in the whole damn company and they aren't doing shit with you. Standing backstage with Justin Gabriel and the rest of the unused talent? That is so not what should be happening. Speaking of Justin, he's pretty cute right?"

"Don't Randa. The last guy you tried to set me up with ended up being Heath Slater and that did not end well."

"That was totally not my doing and you know it. Listen, Mike and I will be there next week. Can you at least give it a shot?"

"No. I don't need a man."

"Fine. I will see you next week. I'll drag Janie with me if I can get her away from Cena long enough. We'll have lunch."

"Alright. Sounds good to me. I gotta go. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright. Bye girlie." Mara hung up the phone and continued walking down the hallway. She'd somehow let Randa and Janie talking her into "getting back on the horse" as they called it shortly after she'd come over to the Smack Down roster. It had turned out to be a complete disaster. Since then, she'd sworn off men and letting her friends set her up. She looked up when she heard a gruff male voice beside her.

"Watch where you're going." She looked up and rolled her eyes as soon as she looked into his face. It had become almost an involuntary reflex whenever she had the misfortune of running into him, which seemed to be everywhere she turned these days. Most women wouldn't have seen it as a bad thing. Running into the six foot tall, tanned, tattooed blue eyed man. But she'd seriously grown to hate the sight of him. He was cocky and walked around like he owned the place. And it reminded her so much of the way Phil had been in their last few months together. She put her phone in her pocket, crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn't scared of him and she wasn't afraid to tell him exactly what she thought of him.

"I was walking here first."

"I'm sorry. I didn't see the sign that said this was your hallway."

"It's not my hallway but if your Neanderthal brain wasn't so set on thinking you were the greatest thing on two legs, you'd have seen me."

"Yeah, I'm the one who needs to watch where I'm going." He said as he brushed his hands down his shirt that was now covered in coffee. "I don't even know why there's a diva's division. You're all the same."

"Really? And how are we?"

"A waste of space." He said as he brushed past her and continued walking. She looked at him for a moment before she shook her head and kept walking. She couldn't understand what his problem was. He'd been a gigantic pain in her ass since she'd come over to the brand. Granted, his appearances on RAW had done little to foster a good relationship between them. They'd never really spoken to each other until she'd been transferred. But he'd seemed to have a bug up his butt from the day she'd first graced the hallways and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why. Yet, they seemed to keep running into each other backstage. And his dislike for her had eventually become contagious. One thing had become abundantly clear to everyone on the Smack Down roster, Mara and the Viper Randy Orton did not like each other. At All.