#they are gonna bend each other like pretzels and I for one will be cheering them on

[homoeroticgrappling]

Forgive me in advance for the things I will say during Hook VS Shibata

[smolwritingchick]

Forced To Believe Chapter 50- What Are You Doing!?

Chapter Summary: The Shield take on The Wyatts but tensions run high when Seth Rollins leaves his team high and dry

Words: 6,000+

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The Shield were getting ready and Morgan walked over to them. 

"There she is." Seth grinned. "Ready?" 

"Yeah." She glanced at Dean before bumping fists with Seth and Roman. 

Seth and Roman noticed the tension between the former lovers and cleared their throats. 

"Can I talk to you? Alone?" She looked at Dean. 

He nodded while Seth and Roman gave them privacy. 

"Look...we need to be 100 percent focused tonight. We can't let our issues get in the way of this war. We'll deal with our situation later. For now, we really need to work together to bring the Wyatts and Rosa down. Okay?" She put her fist out. 

He smirked at her fist and nodded before bumping his fist against hers. She didn't want to fight or argue with him. 

"Right." he replied.

"Good. Keep a cool head." 

"I think I should with you around." 

"Heh. Good to know." 

Morgan tweets '#TheQueenOfTwirls is about to be a team player and put her body on the line to win. #ItsWarTime #NoRegrets' 

In the ring, The Shield stared down Rosa and The Wyatts who stood at the end of the ramp. The Chicago crowd starts chanting 'This is awesome!' 

The Wyatts and Rosa make their way to the ring but then Dean and Seth hit Luke and Erick with a suicide dive as the crowd gets hyped. Rosa tries to distance herself from The Shield members but as soon as she turns to the ring, she's hit with a diving clothesline by Morgan as the crowd cheers. 

"And here come The Shield!" Cole shouted. 

Morgan slides back in the ring while Roman hits Bray with a Samoan drop in the ring. He throws Bray out and high fives her while the ref tries to regain control. After things get settled, Morgan and Rosa start off the match. 

"And The Queen of Twirls is gonna start things off with The Stunning Latina," Cole said as the bell rang and they circled around each other. 

Rosa flips her hair and starts trash talking. Deciding to piss her off, Morgan mocks her hair flip.

"Excuse me!?" Rosa shouted but got kicked in the stomach as she fell down on her knees. 

The Outspoken Diva smirks before giving her another cocky curtsy. Rosa shoots her a glare and stands up but gets speared. She starts uploading on her with punches, making the crowd cheer. 

"They're all over each other!" King shouted as Rosa tried to scratch and claw her way to gain control. 

The ref manages to break it up and as soon as Morgan gets up, Rosa hits her with a swinging neckbreaker and pins her for a two count. 

"Come on, grapes!" Seth cheered as Rosa put her in a twisted bow & arrow submission. 

She puts her knee on her midsection and holds her leg and head to stretch her. 

"Come on, Morgan! Give up!" Rosa yelled as the crowd tried to motivate her. 

"Bending her like a pretzel!" King exclaimed. 

She releases the hold but puts her in a crossed armed surfboard.

"This is painful," JBL said but then Morgan managed to headbutt her from behind, making her release the hold. 

She begins to fight back and hits her with a handspring back elbow smash.

"Both divas trying to make a tag." JBL continued and then Morgan tags in Seth while Rosa tags in Luke. 

Seth hits Luke with a splash off the turnbuckle and a one leg dropkick. Luke begins to fight back and tries to hit him with a high risk move off the top rope but Seth lands on his feet as the crowd 'Ohs'. Morgan grins as he throws Luke out the ring and dropkicks Erick off the apron. He runs and hits Luke with a dive over the ropes and lands on his feet. 

"That's what I'm talking about, bro!" She cheered. 

Seth slides back in the ring as The Shield points to Erick. He dives on top of Erick outside the ring and lands on his feet again, getting hyped up. 

"This guy is amazing!" JBL shouted. 

Luke runs and goes in between the ropes, only to be kicked in the head by Seth. 

"That put a big smile on the face of Roman Reigns," King said as Roman was grinning at his performance. 

Rollins gets on the top rope but Bray gets in the ring. Dean gets in the ring and starts beating on him as it distracts Seth. Moments later, Dean gets thrown to the ropes. 

"Oh no!" Morgan exclaimed as Seth lost his balance and fell off the top rope. 

Dean and Bray get back on the apron while Roman tries to get Dean to explain his actions. Luke throws Seth into the barricade as Morgan cringes. Moments later she starts to get angry as The Wyatts gained the upper hand.

Seth kicks Luke in the head and crawls over for a tag. But then Dean gets off the apron to talk trash with Bray. 

"Dean!" Morgan exclaimed and got off the apron with Roman as soon as Seth tried to make a tag. 

Roman pushes Dean back and tries to calm him down. Erick gets tagged in but gets hit in the face on the middle turnbuckle. The Shield gets back on the apron and Luke hits Roman with a big boot to the face, knocking him off as the crowd boos. Ambrose tries to hit Luke while Luke taunts Ambrose. 

Having enough, Morgan decides to get on the top rope and hits him with a diving clothesline as the crowd cheers. 

"Look at Morgan!" King shouted. 

"Do something! What!?" She taunted and got back on the apron while Luke rolled out the ring.

"That's not fair! DQ her!" Rosa yelled.

"Shut up!" Morgan yelled back.

Seth tries to go for a suplex on Erick but Luke slides back in the ring. Roman slides into the ring and grabs him for a suplex while linking arms with Seth to help him out. 

"What is going on?" Cole asked as Bray got in the ring to try to interfere but then Dean grabbed him for a suplex while linking arms with Roman. 

"Are they going for a triple suplex!?" King exclaimed as the crowd got excited. 

"Aye! Don't have all the fun!" Morgan said and got in the ring as soon as Rosa tried to interfere. 

She grabs her for a suplex hold and links her arms with Dean. 

"They're not gonna do this..." Cole said but then the crowd chanted 'Holy shit!' as soon as The Shield give The Wyatt Family and Rosa a quadruple suplex. 

"Aw, man! A quadruple suplex! Ha ha I love it!" JBL said. 

"Booyah!" Morgan yelled and high fived her teammates before getting back on the apron with Dean and Roman. 

Seth tags in Dean while Rosa, Bray, and Luke get back on the apron. 

Brie tweets 'I thought a triple suplex was good back in the day...a quadruple suplex is even better! #Teamwork' 

Nikki tweets 'I'm starting to believe! #SuplexOfJustice' 

Dean jumps on Erick and starts unloading on him. 

"Dean Ambrose just seems a little bit out of control here tonight." King looked on. 

"Ya think? The Wyatts are doing everything they can to get Roman out of the ring." JBL said 

Dean begins to take control and hits Erick with a dropkick to the knee. 

"Stay on him." Morgan supported while Roman and Seth were at ringside, resting. 

He puts Erick in the Figure Four as the crowd starts 'Wooing'. Morgan begins to grin when Dean puts the lock on tight but then Luke breaks it up by hitting him in the midsection. Roman gets back in the ring and starts hitting him and Luke falls out of the ring. 

"Referee! Referee! Referee!" Bray yelled as he tried to get the ref to stop Roman and Luke from fighting. 

Luke gets thrown into the timekeeper's area as the crowd cheers. Bray gets tagged in and slams Dean down on the mat as the crowd 'Ohs'. Bray taunts the crowd and turns to Morgan as she scowls at him.

"This is what you wanted? This is what you want?" He pointed at Ambrose's beaten up body. 

She begins to grip the ropes tightly as he gets on top of Dean and starts beating him with punches. Moments later, she begins seething as he hits Dean with a stomp in the face. 

Roman gets back on the apron. He glances at Morgan's angry expression and starts to show a smirk on his face. She was getting motivated and that's what The Shield needs in this match. Dean begins to get controlled by The Wyatts and Morgan does not like it one bit. She did not like watching him get beaten up like this. 

Nikki tweets 'It looks like WWEMorgan101 wants to scream. I can see the frustration on her face.' 

The Outspoken Diva runs her hands through her hair and starts pacing on the apron while Dean is in a submission by Erick. He pulls on his beard and escapes the hold but gets hit with a sidewalk slam. Luke gets tagged in and he hits Dean to the ropes. Ambrose falls back in between the ropes and comes back by hitting him with a lariat as the crowd cheers. 

Morgan begins to look relieved and watches as he goes for the pin. Rosa breaks it up and she gets in the ring, attempting to clothesline her but Rosa ducks. 

Roman gets in the ring and goes for the spear but Rosa jumps out of the way. As soon as Morgan turns around, she gets speared by accident. She lands on her neck as soon as he hits her with the spear and rolls over, face first on the mat. 

"Spear! Spear on Morgan! Again!" Cole yelled as the crowd chanted 'Holy Shit!' 

The Bellas tweet 'Oh my God! WWEMorgan101 landed on her neck! Is she OKAY!?' 

Celeste tweets 'Took that spear like a champ. I really hope WWEMorgan101 is okay. Edge and Trish Spear 2.0!'

"Morgan! Are you all right!?" The ref yelled and went to check on her to see if he needed to signal the WWE Doctor.

Seth, Roman, Dean, and Rosa widened their eyes at the way her body moved from the spear and that was not supposed to happen and it made everyone look worried. 

Milena (Rosa) put a hand over her mouth, breaking character a little. "Is she okay?" she murmured.

"That was hard to watch," Cole said as they showed Roman's spear to Morgan 4 times. 

"She landed on her neck!" King screamed in a high pitched voice. "Is she okay!?" 

Melanie grunted. That almost gave her whiplash. "I'm okay." she signaled as everyone began to look relieved.

She already knew her mom was probably screaming at the TV as soon as she saw that spear. 

"Amazing." Milena sighed out of relief. 

Melanie rolled out of the ring while Joe slid out of the ring to check on her. She was sitting down, leaning on the barricade, holding her neck. Thankfully there was no pain. But that was scary how she flipped.

"You okay? I'm sorry," He said as concern was shown on his face. 

"It's okay! I'm fine, I'm fine." She reassured with a smile. "I hope I didn't botch the spear." 

"Nah, but you gave us all a scare there. I didn't think you'd land on your neck like that. I'm glad you're okay." 

"Yeah, no worries." She smiled at him and he got back on the apron. 

Jon turned to Melanie, who was lying down in the ring, checking to see if she was okay. She gave him a reassuring smile and he started to look relieved. He smirked and gave her a wink. He admired her heart in the ring.

Dean tries to go for the tag as Roman gets hit off the apron by Bray who was tagged in. But then Dean plants him with a DDT as the crowd gets hyped. He slowly starts to crawl his way towards Seth but Seth doesn't put his hand out. He just gives him a blank look. 

Morgan watches Dean crawl over to him and drops her jaw as soon as she sees Seth jump off the apron. The crowd 'Ohs' and gets excited as some stand up to this exciting and shocking conflict. 

Morgan frequently starts to shake her head. "No...no...what are you doing...? What are you doing?!" She yelled at Seth while Dean slumped over the ropes in disbelief. 

What the hell is going on!? Why would Seth leave Dean hanging like this? It made her panic. This was not supposed to happen. This could not be happening. 

"Wait a minute..." Cole said as the crowd gave Seth mixed reactions. 

The crowd starts to get louder as Seth begins to walk to the ramp. 

"And Seth Rollins has no interest and I think Seth Rollins is walking out of here!" Cole shouted.

"What!?" King yelled. "You're kidding me!" 

"I'm not sure you can blame him after the things that went down earlier tonight." 

Morgan manages to get up and catches up to Roman who walks over to Seth at the middle of the ramp while Ambrose watches.

"Seth!" Morgan's voice cracked. 

Her heart was starting to break. She could not believe he would walk out on his teammates. After all they've been through? After all the times he's kept peace in the group? 

Seth averted his eyes from her. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. He was starting to feel conflicted with his decision. 

Roman looks back at Dean and then at Seth. "What are you doin'?" he asked, breaking Seth from his thoughts. 

"I can't be the glue to keep this together! You two weren't there for me I reached for the tag!" Seth yelled as Morgan started to get angry. 

"Are you kidding me!?" She shouted. "You asshole! What are you thinking right now!?"

"You're the glue!" Roman yelled.

"You three, figure it out. You three, figure it out." He continued to walk up the ramp. 

"Seth!" Morgan shouted.

"What are you doing, man? What are you doing!? This isn't the game plan!" Roman yelled as Dean managed to get up from the ropes and looked at Seth walking up the ramp. 

He gets hit with a splash by Bray. Morgan snaps her head to the ring as Dean gets dropped and pinned. She runs her hands through her hair. So many emotions going through her right now. 

She and Roman run to the ring as Roman breaks up the pin. He drops Erick and Luke and cleans house until he gets hit with a big boot by Luke. Roman rolls out the ring while Morgan is on the apron, looking worried. 

Bray begins to laugh and hits Ambrose with a running senton while he grunts out in pain. The Outspoken Diva puts her hands over her mouth as Bray looks at her and laughs. 

"This is what happens!" Bray yelled. 

He picks Dean up for the Sister Abigail. 

"Dean, no!" she screamed as Bray stopped himself from kissing his forehead. "Don't hurt him, leave him alone! Fight me!" She yells as the crowd cheers. 

"Yes! She cares!" JBL said with hope as the crowd cheered loudly for her.

Bray throws him down, near her. 

The Bellas tweet 'She just screamed. #MorganCares!' 

Morgan tags herself in and slowly gets in the ring while Dean rolls out the ring. She exhales and looks a little worried as Luke, Rosa, and Erick get on each side of the apron, surrounding her. 

"This is what The Shield has done ever since they debuted," JBL said. 

Morgan turns her head to look at Seth with a disappointed look as he continues to stand on the ramp and do nothing. Seth's heart starts to ache as he watches her in the ring, alone, but he is trying to prove a point. 

The Philly Diva looks back at the Wyatts while Bray gives her a stern look. 

"You will pay for your sins, rose..." he demanded as he took a step closer. 

She sinks down to her knees and looks at the mat while Bray laughs again. 

"I'm all alone..." Morgan mumbled and clenched her fists.

"Morgan! Don't give up!" King shouted.

She looks around and closes her eyes. She exhales and opens them before slowly standing up. 

'One...two...three...four...' she looks at each opponent, thinking to herself. 'This isn't like Survivor Series...this is much more dangerous and harder...I can't go after just one person...they'll jump me...I can't just lunge after Rosa because they'll grab me...I need to do something quick and offensive...I can't run away now...this is risky, but I need to do this...if Seth won't help out and try to save this match, maybe I can. It's worth a shot.' 

The crowd begins to chant her name while Luke, Erick, and Rosa slowly get in the ring to surround her. 

"They are gonna eat her alive," JBL said with worry. 

Morgan decides to make a bold move and run towards Bray. He tries to clothesline her but Morgan yells "Whoo!" as she ducks and turns around to hit him with a spinning kick in the face. Erick runs over to her but Morgan begins to drop The Wyatt Family and Rosa with clotheslines. She starts striking them with spinning kicks to the face as they keep getting up to get hit again. 

The Bellas tweet 'This is like an action movie. WWEMorgan101's hair is all over the place, flowing in the air. #Heroine' 

She throws each opponent to each corner. 

"Let's go!" She yelled as the crowd cheered her on. 

"Look at her go!" Cole yelled as she hit each member with a handspring back elbow smash. 

"Whoa!" King exclaimed as Roman got back on the apron. 

"Look at her go!" JBL yelled as Roman began to grin at her performance despite having Seth leave them hanging. 

"Atta girl!" Roman cheered. 

Luke and Erick roll out of the ring as Morgan gets on the top rope and hits them with a diving crossbody. She slides back in the ring and jumps on the other slide, hitting Bray with a suicide dive. 

"She's running all over the place! Is she out of breath?" King exclaimed. 

"Must be on an adrenaline rush," Cole said.

Nikki tweets 'Uh oh, I think WWEMorgan101 is having a little #GrapeRush.' 

Celeste tweets 'Whoo! Keep kicking ass WWEMorgan101! #ThisDivaCanFly' 

Rosa was left in the ring, looking on in shock.

"This cannot be happening!" Rosa yelled as Morgan got back in the ring. She turns around and is about to run but bumps into Roman's chest. "Get out of my way!" She slapped him across the face as the crowd 'Oohs'. 

"Big mistake," Cole said but then Ambrose grabbed her from behind. 

"No! No!" 

Erick gets back on the apron but Morgan runs and dropkicks him. 

"Morgan!" Dean yelled. 

She turns around and he throws Rosa towards her. She spins around before striking her with a roundhouse kick in the face, dropping her down. 

"Roman, Morgan, and Dean are holding their own tonight!" Cole said with amazement. 

Dean and Morgan sets Luke on the middle ropes and hold him down. Dean motions to Roman and he runs to hit Luke with a one leg dropkick.

"Oh, man! Harper!" Cole exclaimed as Roman roared. 

Rosa manages to get on the top rope and as soon as Roman turns around, she jumps. He catches her in a powerbomb hold as the crowd gets hyped. 

"Uh oh! She's caught!" Cole shouted.

"I got this!" Morgan said and got on the top rope. 

She jumps off and hits Rosa with a clothesline, making her drop down on her back. 

"She clotheslined Rosa!" King shouted.

"This is starting to get chaotic!" JBL yelled as Morgan rolled out of the ring. 

Dean starts unloading on Bray in the ring while Erick runs towards Morgan at ringside.

"Whoa!" She yelled and evaded him. 

She gets back on the apron and kicks him in the head, making him stumble. Then, she takes him down with a diving clothesline. 

Erick stumbles back, near the announcer's table. 

"Oh look out guys! Look out!" Cole yelled as Roman spears Erick over the announce table.

Meanwhile, Dean gets hit with a big boot by Luke. Luke hits Roman with a suicide dive, making him fall over the table. Morgan gets back on the top rope, about to dive on Luke but Rosa runs back in the ring and pushes her off. Morgan lands right on the table, breaking it as the crowd 'Ohs' loudly and starts chanting 'Holy Shit'. 

"No! Morgan! She just got pushed off the table!" King yelled. 

"Rosa! What were you thinking!?" JBL yelled as Morgan looked hurt. 

Rosa grins at what she's done and blows her a kiss. 

Celeste tweets 'WTF Rosa!? Are you fudging kidding me!? Pushing her off the top rope!?' 

Brie tweets 'Oh my gosh! Morgan! Are you okay!?' 

"Oh my God! I told you it's Armageddon!" Cole yelled. 

Ambrose jumps on top of Luke and starts beating on him but then Bray throws him to the steel post. He falls face first as Morgan manages to sit up. Rosa gets out the ring and grabs her by the hair. She throws her inside the ring while Bray, Erick and Luke get in the ring. 

"Oh no, this is not good. Morgan held her own for a while but I don't think she is gonna be able to escape Bray's wrath." Cole looked on with worry.

Erick and Luke grab her arms as she tries to escape. 

"Get off of me!" She yelled. 

"Seth! Help her!" King shouted. 

Seth watches on and continues to do nothing. He starts to get tears in his eyes as he watches her suffer. 

"You wanted this!?" Bray yelled. "You did this to yourself! You shall pay for your sins!" 

Rosa hits Morgan with a hard kick in the face as the crowd 'Ohs' from the impact. 

"That was brutal," JBL said. 

Morgan holds her right eye in pain as she grunts.

"Morgan's hurt. Something's wrong." King said with worry. 

She touches her face near her right eye and sees blood coming out. Rosa's shoe must have cut her open near her eye. 

"This is crazy!" King exclaimed. "Morgan is defenseless!"

Nikki tweets 'This is too much! A four on one assault!?' 

"Reigns is out...Ambrose is out..." Cole looked on.

"Nobody is safe," King added. 

"Morgan is in the ring, left for dead while Rollins continues to do nothing," JBL shook his head. 

"Oh no Morgan's bleeding!" King panicked as she tried to get up. 

Blood was starting to cover most of the right side of her face which caught the audience's attention. 

"Rosa made her bleed?" Cole asked. 

"That kick," JBL informed as the titantron showed Rosa's kick. 

Morgan touches her face again and sees a large amount of blood on her hand. 

Bray grabbed her face. "I didn't want this rose! This could have turned out better!" 

Suddenly, it was like a switch went off of her and the Outspoken Diva started laughing in his face, making the crowd cheer. Tilting her head to the side, she gave him a crazed look. "This will not be enough to break me. Do your worst,"

Looking amused, Bray releases her as she gets grabbed again. This time, Luke hits her with a big boot to the face as she drops down again. 

Brie tweets 'This is hard to watch...Why aren't you doing anything, Seth!? #HelpYourSister' 

Bray does his signature pose near the corner. He then laughs and grabs her for the Sister Abigail position. 

"Seth Rollins is watching all this." Cole looked on in disapproval. 

"How can Seth Rollins just stand there and watch his teammates, specifically Morgan go through all this?" King asked. 

Bray kisses her forehead and hits the Sister Abigail on her. Rosa grins and turns her over to pin her while Morgan turns her head to the ramp, looking in her groggy eyes, at Seth who continues to stand there and do nothing. 

"1!" 

"2!" 

"3!" 

Seth runs his hands through his hair as The Wyatts and Rosa pose around Morgan's body. 

"You gotta wonder what's going through Seth's mind," Cole said. 

"He's conflicted," King replied. 

"Is he second guessing himself for what he did? Does he feel bad because he left his teammates here, high and dry? So many questions that need to be answered." 

"Seth just stood there and watch his teammates get beat," JBL added. 

The Wyatts leave the ring while Seth leaves the arena. 

Roman and Dean start to recover and they see a badly beaten up Morgan face first on the mat. They help her out of the ring as the crowd cheers for them. They put her arms around them and help her walk as her face is still bloody. She is very groggy and stumbles before Dean and Roman catch her. 

"I have never seen Morgan this beaten up before. This is just...wow..." JBL said. 

The crowd starts to clap for The Shield and begins to chant Morgan's name. 

"You've gotta give it up for Morgan. She knew the risks and still decided to fight back." Cole said as the commentators agreed. 

"And the crowd is letting her hear their appreciation for her efforts," 

"So much heart..." King said. "Win or lose, Morgan is starting to earn the respect of the crowd." 

Brie tweets 'WWEMorgan101 took one for the team. Amazing match!' 

Chyna tweets 'Beautiful job WWEMorgan101! Let no one bring you down. Keep getting back up and fight!' 

Celeste tweets 'Amazing performance by WWEMorgan101! Loved every second of it! You have so much heart in the ring! #KeepGettingBackUp' 

Stone Cold tweets 'Respect for WWEMorgan101. Great performance out there. #KeepingMyEyeOnYou' 

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Joe and Jon help Melanie backstage.

"We got you grapes. Don't die on us now." Joe joked while Melanie managed to chuckle. 

She felt kind of groggy from all those attacks and the bleeding made it a little worse. But overall, she loved the match and was glad she continued the match even though she was bleeding. 

"How bad is my eye?" She mumbled. 

"You're bleeding more by the second. I think Milena's boot must have scraped your face and hit your eye." Jon answered. 

"I look like a hot mess..." 

"You look like you've been in a real wrestling match." Jon countered. "Just like old times. CZW vibes,"

"Heh. Yeah. Thanks." 

Moments later, the WWE officials and some of the roster begin to cheer for The Shield and Wyatts for their performance. 

"I'll carry her to the trainer's room. Here we go." Jon picked her up bridal style and walked her over to the trainer's room. 

Before Melanie was examined, she took a photo of herself. 

She tweets 'I can get beat up but I'll always get back up and fight back even harder. Not enough to take me out. You didn't finish the job. #WarWound' 

Melanie was examined by the WWE Doctor. She had some time before her next segment for the night as The doctor cleaned her face and fixed the small cut near her eye. She was told that she may get some bruising on her right eye since she was still feeling some pain. The doctor also checked her neck since she took a nasty fall from Joe's spear. Luckily everything was okay. 

"You should call your mom. You may have given her a scare." Jon said and gave Melanie her phone after the doctor was done. 

"Jeez, over 15 missed calls." She dialed up her mom's number and she answered on the first ring. 

"MELANIE! Are you okay!?" Jane screamed.

Melanie winced in pain from the loudness while Jon laughed. "Yes, mom, I'm fine."

"Thank goodness! You did wonderful out there! You scared me to death when you landed on your neck!" 

"I know, I guess I landed weirdly. I thought I botched the spear by it just looked more painful to watch." 

"It was! Fans will be talking about it for a while! I am so proud of you!" 

"I'm proud of myself too. Thank you," 

"I know you have a segment to do but I am just happy that you're okay. I love you!" 

"I love you too!"

"You were badass out there." Jon smiled and kissed her on the forehead after she got off the phone. 

"Thanks. You too."

"Take a nap. I'll tell you when it's our cue for the Backstage Fallout." 

"Okay."

'Backstage Fallout' 

Roman, Dean, and Morgan were walking backstage in a foul mood. Dean kicked some equipment nearby as Tom followed them. 

"Excuse me uh, Dean, Roman, Morgan, can we get-" Tom began as Dean motioned him to go away. 

"Get out of here, go." Dean turned around and so did Roman and Morgan.

"Can we get a word, real quick?"

"No, not at all, go."

"We just saw uh, Seth Rollins leaving the building," Tom said as it caught their attention.

"What?" Morgan asked. 

"You saw Seth?" Dean stepped up to him. "You saw Seth Rollins? Where was he? Where was he?" He pushed him. 

"Hey, hey, calm down." she put her hand on Dean's chest, making him back off. "Where did you see Seth?"

"He was leaving the building," Tom answered. 

"She didn't ask that. She asked where was he." Dean retorted. 

"I'm gonna ask you this one time..." Roman began. 

"Parking garage?" Dean asked. 

"I'm gonna ask you one time." Roman stepped up to Tom. "Where is Seth Rollins?" 

"WWE just saw him leaving the building over there," Tom answered. 

"No, no, no, I didn't say stutter, I said tell me where he is. Your future depends on this one, where is he at? You point in the direction and you go the opposite way." 

"He's gone...he's half way through Detroit by now." Dean shrugged. 

"Morgan, what are your thoughts?" Tom managed to ask as The Shield looked at her. 

Breathing heavily as her emotions were getting too much, she began to break down, crying, and ran away. Ambrose and Reigns called out for her as the cameras quickly followed her while Kane watched her run past.

"Morgan! Calm down!" Kane ordered and made a bunch of refs follow her to make sure nothing bad happened.

He did not want to hear or see another rampage from her.

With Morgan, she stopped running and ran her hands through her hair. She was so distraught about Seth. 

All of a sudden, she spots him quickly putting his bags in his car and opening up the door. He must have requested Tom to tell a little white lie to buy him some time to leave. 

She wiped her tears. "Going somewhere?" She called out as he turned around in surprise.

"Morgan..." Seth sadly said. "Look..." 

"You son of a..." She glared at him and began marching up to him, angrily. 

She tried to hit him but he grabbed her forearm. She tried to hit him with her other hand but he grabbed her other forearm. 

He released her, gently pushing her back. "Morgan­-" 

"You son of a bitch!" She screamed and slapped him in the face. She began beating on him with tears running down her face. "You son of a bitch! I trusted you! I trusted you!" 

Her screams got louder while a bunch of referees came to restrain her.

Rollins watched her with a pained expression. "I..." He trailed. 

"You were supposed to be my brother! What kind of brother walks out on his sister like that!?! You don't walk out on your team no matter what! Why!?" Her voice cracked as she began to get escorted out of the parking lot. "We were supposed to stick together!"

Rollins got in the car and locked his doors. He gripped the steering wheel hard and placed his forehead against it. 

"I'm trying to prove a point...I'm sorry, Morgan..."

------

During Smackdown, Morgan was beyond pissed tonight. One...she was mad at the refs taking her away from Rollins. Two...she was not done with Rosa. Not after what she's done. She got lucky because of the Wyatts. When she's alone, she'll regret everything. And three...Seth is gonna be in the hot seat and better give some answers to his actions on Raw. 

She was pretty banged up. She landed on her neck when her teammate accidentally speared her, she got thrown onto a table, and she got a small dark bruise on her right eye all thanks to that sinister kick from Rosa. She wasn't the one to blame others, it was mostly her fault. She should have focused on the match more and let Roman try to handle Seth but shock overcame her. She would never guess Seth of all people to walk out on The Shield. 

She just wanted answers. 

She put on her fingerless gloves and saw Ambrose approach her. 

"Roman and I are ready-what happened?" he looked at her face in concern.

"It's nothing...just a bad bruise"

"No, it's not nothing." He lifted her chin before caressing her face to check out her eye. 

She put one of her hands over his hand. "Look...I'm fine. It'll heal. Okay Let's just go," 

-------

Dean, Roman and Morgan were in the ring. Morgan's small black eye was very visible to the camera. 

"Morgan took a nasty beating on Raw. She held her own for a while but the Wyatt Family and Rosa were just too much for her to handle." Cole informed. 

Before Dean had a chance to talk, he stopped as the crowd began to chant Morgan's name. She smiled at the crowd with appreciation as the commentators talked about her performance on Monday. 

After the chants died down, Dean exhaled. "We can handle getting beat up, we can handle getting hurt, we can handle physical pain, that's no problem. I don't know about you two but there's one thing that I can't handle. What I will not tolerate, what will keep me up at night, and that's being lied to, by somebody that I trust. And I feel like we've been lied to, for the last 18 months. You see I was under the impression...that The Shield had each other's backs. Evidently, Seth Rollins didn't our back on Monday Night Raw. He walked out on us, in the middle of a war!" Ambrose did his neck roll. "So we're not much for talking right now but uh, Seth Rollins, we know you're here since you called this little 'Summit' all right? So why don't you come out here and say what you're gonna say? Huh? Tell me something, tell me a story, tell me a lie, make an excuse, say something after all the wars we've been through!"

Morgan's face showed irritation as she continued to listen to Ambrose speak, "You better come out here and explain yourself before this war begins, and judging by the look on Roman's face...you got about 30 seconds... But by the look on Morgan's face...you got about five seconds."

Seth slowly walked out near the stage and walked down the ramp. He walked up the steps slowly and got on the apron to stand before his teammates. 

"Before you open your mouth..." Roman muttered. "I hope you thought really hard about what you got to say. And it better be good." 

"All right, look...I get it...leaving you three to fight The Wyatts and Rosa, three on four, on Monday night, maybe wasn't the opportune time to prove a point." Seth said. "But what you don't understand is that the war isn't with the Wyatts. The war is within us all right? Look it's no secret that The Shield hasn't been The Shield for some time. But I did what I always do Monday, I sacrificed myself for the greater good so that we can get ourselves on the same page!" 

"You sacrificed!? Oh, Seth sacrificed himself. I didn't realize you were making such a sacrifice when you left us for dead against The Wyatts and Rosa, all right? Look there's a big difference between what you did and what we did. Morgan sacrificed more than we all did combined! She got a black eye because of you!" Dean yelled. "We fought off, you walked off!" 

"Look, look at you guys. You're all on the same page. You're seeing things eye to eye. Don't you get it? I'm proving my point! I'm already halfway there." He got in the ring. 

Morgan grabbed a mic as the crowd cheered. "I don't care if I got a black eye. It'll heal." She reassured Dean and turned to Seth. "That's not what's bothering me right now...that's not what's hurting me right now...what's hurting me is my heart because I thought my brother was supposed to be there for his sister." 

Seth looked down at the mat at her words. They stung. "Look­-" 

"I thought my brother was supposed to look out for his sister." 

"Mor-­"

"I thought my brother could be trusted." 

He gave her a sorrowful look. "...I never meant to hurt you grapes...it was hard to watch-­" 

"Bullcrap...If it was you should have done something!" She yelled but quickly calmed down. "You know what? I...am so tired of getting stepped on and jumped by the same Barbie dolls over and over again. A cheap shot I can handle; a loss I can handle...but jumping? Four on one assault while Dean and Roman were down and out? I fended for myself as long as I could but it's getting really old to beat the crap out of the same pathetic faces, like Rosa, that I have to see everything I step into this area. But you know what bothers me? You. You standing there when a group of people don't have the balls to face me one on one and jump me...do you know what you've done to me? You stood there... you watched me get beaten...you watched and saw me bleed...how could you stand there and do nothing?" 

[artificialqueens]

Something So Magic About You (Don't You Agree?) (Branjie)--athena2

A/N: This is a way overdue prompt for @bennitone, who asked for B and V’s familiars being friends. I hope you all enjoy this, and please leave some feedback if you like! Your comments all mean so much to me! Thank you so much to Writ for betaing and making me cackle with your comments Title from From Eden by Hozier

“Matilda, what are you doing? You’re not supposed to go in the woods at night!” Brooke scrambles after her black cat, coasting along the leafy forest floor. The cold November night is alive around her, the chilly air and fallen leaves like old friends. This is a night for magic to run free, and Brooke’s fingertips buzz with it.

Brooke performs a simple light spell, light spilling from her hand and illuminating the forest. Her black boots crunch over the leaves as she follows Matilda into a clearing, bare branches stretching across the sky to form a canopy over the world, making Brooke feel as cozy as she did in her giant sweaters.

Her cat sits smugly on a log, a large snowy owl next to her. Brooke’s heart thumps in her chest. She’d recognize that owl anywhere. It’s–

“Bertha, what the hell?” a gruff voice shouts. A circle of light grows bigger until it reaches the clearing, a short woman with wavy brown hair appearing with it.

Brooke’s cheeks burn hotter than a fire spell as she rakes her fingers through her hair. Vanessa had said hey to Brooke at their very first nightly coven magic lesson when they were 11, Brooke returning the greeting as her legs shook under her desk and her stomach twisted like a pretzel, and for the past 15 years Brooke has been lucky to manage a full sentence when Vanessa is near since.

“Brooke? Is that you?” Vanessa asks.

“Um, yeah.”

“Haven’t seen you since the last coven meeting. Whatcha been up to?”

Not for the first time, Brooke wishes for a spell that would give her something funny to say. How could she read so many books, but never have the right words to say herself? “Oh, you know. The usual,” Brooke mumbles. “How about you?”

“The same.”

They stand in silence until Vanessa’s owl, Bertha, flies over and perches on her shoulder.

“I guess I better get going. Got a hot date my with my TV tonight,” Vanessa excuses herself.

Brooke keeps her face smooth even if she’s crumbling inside. Of course Vanessa couldn’t wait to get away from her.

“Me too,” Brooke says as Matilda slinks over to her. “I, um, also watch TV.” Her face burns like she’s been dipped in lava when she realizes what she’s just said, but Vanessa doesn’t seem to mind. Instead, she smiles.

“See you around.”

And then she’s gone.

Brooke groans as she scoops up Matilda. I also watch TV? Why did she sound like a robot when she talked to Vanessa? Scratch that, robots probably have better communication skills.

“Oh well. It’s not like I have a chance with her anyway. Why would someone as cool as her want me?” Brooke sighs, heading home with her fingers buried in Matilda’s fur to calm her.

Matilda curls up at Brooke’s feet in bed, her human finally asleep after a long rant about how stupid she had sounded in the forest followed by an hour of reading and then an hour of tossing and turning.

Matilda sighs. This has been going on for 15 years, and she’s had enough.

—

A few miles away, Bertha takes flight after listening to Vanessa gripe about her word choice (‘Hot date with my TV?’ Who the hell says that?) and the uselessness of her crush (Brooke could never like me anyway, what’s the point?).

As Bertha’s wings unfurl beneath the white moon, so does a plan in her mind.

—

Vanessa wakes up and finds her bowl of sage has emptied in the night. She takes her first gulp of coffee and considers what could have happened to it, locking eyes with her mischievous owl. Bertha sits in posed innocence on top of her chair, the magical owl not needing to sleep during the day like regular owls.

“Did you have something to do with this, Bertha?” she asks, holding up the empty bowl.

Bertha stretches out her wings and shrugs.

“Whatever.” Vanessa sighs. “I’ll just go to…ugh, I’ll have to go to Brooke’s store! Now I’m gonna look like an idiot in front of her again!”

Vanessa usually only sees Brooke at the monthly coven meetings, when Brooke’s eyes and the careful way she takes notes distract Vanessa from every word spoken, or at occasional trips to the magic store. This is two days in a row, and maybe she can use this opportunity instead of blowing it like she has with every other one for the past 15 years.

She finishes her breakfast and barricades herself in the bathroom, fixing her hair and applying makeup. She knows it’s all pointless, that she’ll just embarrass herself again anyway. Brooke is so smart, the smartest witch in the whole coven, and there’s no way she’d ever want to be with someone like Vanessa.

Vanessa tugs on her bright red coat and then her black gloves, the winter chill coming early in November this year. Her body is warm with magic despite the cold, and the world seems brighter as she reflects that even if she doesn’t have anyone to share her bed with or eat dinner with every night, she can still do magic, and that’s no small thing. Bertha curls up happily inside Vanessa’s coat, as Vanessa makes her way down to the magic supply and book shop Brooke owns with Nina, the leader of their coven.

The hand-carved sign with its precise lettering welcomes her to Nina and Brooke’s Magic Supply (Vanessa knows Nina wanted to name it ‘Check Yourself Before You Hex Yourself,’ but had settled in the name of professionalism).

“Hi, Vanessa!” Nina calls as soon as she enters, cementing her title of Most Cheerful Person in history. Nina always has a smile for everyone and greets her customers by name, asking them about their lives and remembering tiny details about them, like how Vanessa is allergic to dogs and her favorite pizza topping is pepperoni.

Vanessa opens her coat and Bertha perches on her shoulder as she walks to the counter, Nina smiling behind it. Brooke sits on a stool, nose in a book, brow furrowed and lips parted slightly as she reads. Her black cat rests calmly in her lap. Brooke wears a giant olive green sweater with the sleeves pulled down over her long fingers, and Vanessa’s heart almost leaps out of her chest at how adorable she is. Too bad Vanessa has no chance with her.

“Hey, Nina. Hey, Brooke.”

Brooke’s head snaps up. “Huh? Oh, hi, Vanessa,” she says quickly, cheeks going pink.

“What brings you in today?” Nina asks.

“Just need some sage,” she explains, stashing her gloves in her pocket. “I think Bertha was up to no good last night.”

Her owl gives a light hoot.

“Oh, Brooke, why don’t you and Vanessa go get it together?” Nina suggests.

“That’s okay, I can do it myself–”

“Nonsense!” Nina declares. “Brooke would love to go with you, wouldn’t she?” she shoots a pointed glance at Brooke.

“I would,” Brooke says in the quiet, sincere voice Vanessa heard for the first time when they were 11. It takes her back to magic classes under a sky glowing with sunset, Brooke so smart and studious and silent that Vanessa had never dared give her more than a simple hey at the start of each class, because even though she could talk for days she couldn’t think of anything that wouldn’t make her sound like an idiot in front of Brooke.

Brooke sets her book down and places Matilda on the ground, the cat following along after her feet.

Vanessa trails behind Brooke, reaching for Bertha’s feathers to keep herself steady at the prospect of being alone with Brooke. Say something. Say something, she chants to herself, but keeping up with Brooke’s long legs is making conversation difficult.

“Did you have a good night?” Vanessa finally tries once they come to a stop.

“Me? Yeah, I did. I read a little and that was mostly it. How about you?”

Vanessa had put on a face mask and watched trashy reality TV, taking comfort in the fact that at least her life wasn’t in as much of a shambles as the people on the show, devoured cold pizza and a row of Oreos, and talked to her pet owl for an hour.

“Just watched some TV,” Vanessa answers.

Vanessa looks up and sees the sage on a shelf at least two feet above her head. “Good thing you’re here to reach that.” That’s flirty, isn’t it?

“Guess so,” Brooke says, grinning as she hands her the vial. Their fingers touch longer than necessary as Vanessa accepts it, warmth shuddering through her arm, and all she can think is how the green of Brooke’s eyes makes the sage dull.

Neither of them notice Bertha slipping her beak into Vanessa’s pocket and dropping her gloves into Matilda’s waiting paws.

—

Brooke sets about her closing duties at the store, rushing through the sweeping so she can take her time fixing the bookshelves. Books had been Brooke’s friends since she was old enough to pick out short words, leaving the library with a stack of books taller than she was, and she felt more comfortable around them than she did other people. At least you didn’t have to talk to a book.

She didn’t need much more than a book, Matilda, and some tea to make her happy; she never had. She never admitted it to anyone; doing something so quiet and boring would get her laughed at, and is surely another reason her crush on Vanessa is pointless. Because why would Vanessa, who had been so confident and charming and casual in magic class and is still just as vibrant now, want to spend time with quiet, boring Brooke?

The feeling of Matilda pawing at her leg snaps her out of it.

“What’s that you got?” she asks, bending down to remove a pair of black gloves from the cat’s mouth.

“I bet these are Vanessa’s gloves,” she says, neglecting to acknowledge that she only recognizes the gloves because of her inability to stop staring at Vanessa’s hands. “I’ll have to bring them to her tonight. It’s been so cold, she’ll need them,” she decides, also neglecting to acknowledge that Vanessa could probably go without them until the morning.

She pulls on her dark blue coat. It’s only a short drive to Vanessa’s apartment and Brooke likes driving at night, the clear air and dark sky enough to soothe some of her fears.

She knocks on Vanessa’s door and Brooke doesn’t know why she’s so shocked when Vanessa answers; why wouldn’t she? But anything she might have planned to say flies out of her brain when she sees Vanessa, her brown eyes lit up in surprise, her small hands rubbing at her neck. Brooke has done enough staring at Vanessa’s hands today, but she can’t resist, admiring her short fingers and rounded nails with chipped crimson polish, her smooth, delicate wrists.

“Brooke?” Vanessa asks. A confused wrinkle forms between her eyebrows and Brooke has to restrain herself from smoothing it out.

“Your gloves,” Brooke blurts. “You, um, I found your gloves in the shop. I thought you might want them.” She thrusts them at Vanessa, who looks surprised but not unhappy. Could she really be happy to see Brooke?

“Oh, thank you. You didn’t have to come all this way.”

“It was nothing.” Brooke shifts around, Matilda meowing loudly at her feet. A second later Bertha gives a resounding hoot inside the apartment and flutters over to the door, dropping a box of spaghetti on the floor. Vanessa picks it up after scolding Bertha, then turns the box over in her hands.

“Hey, that reminds me, since you’re here, you want to stay for dinner? I’m making spaghetti,” Vanessa offers, eyes widening like she can’t believe the words just came out of her mouth.

Dinner with Vanessa? Teenage Brooke would have peed herself at such an offer–hell, adult Brooke might lose control of her bladder soon. But what will they talk about for an entire dinner? What could she possibly say to get her crush of 15 years to like her? Vanessa will probably hate her, or maybe she’ll be so boring Vanessa will fall asleep right at the table. “I wouldn’t want to impose on you or anything–”

“You’re not imposing. I always end up with enough spaghetti to feed half the city, at least you can eat some of it with me.”

And Brooke can’t say no.

—-

Even though she was the one that invited her and she’s had fantasies about this hundreds of times, Vanessa still can’t quite believe Brooke is sitting at her kitchen table.

She keeps biting her lip and wringing her hands, and Vanessa thinks how odd it is to see Brooke’s hands without a book in them.

Is Brooke so fidgety because she doesn’t want to be here? Is she wondering how she’ll survive an entire dinner with someone as obnoxious as Vanessa? Vanessa busies herself with getting the food ready to push back her fears that she’ll make a fool of herself, or sound so dumb that Brooke runs away.

Vanessa sets the bowls down and races for something to say.

“She follows you everywhere, huh?” Vanessa asks, nodding toward the cat curled against Brooke’s thigh.

Brooke smiles. “Yeah. The letter for magic classes said we could have a cat or an owl, and I always wanted a cat. She’s kind of my best friend.”

“That’s sweet,” Vanessa says. She smiles at the careful yet graceful way Brooke butters her bread. “Does she ever bring you dead mice? ‘Cause Bertha thinks that’s a real present for me.”

Dead mice? They’re eating dinner and she talks about dead mice? Brooke doesn’t seem to mind though; she just shakes her head and laughs.

“She hasn’t, which is good. Bugs and rats and anything like that creep me out. I’d probably run out of my apartment screaming.”

Vanessa giggles as she twirls her spaghetti. This is going better than she thought, but it’s only been a few minutes and she can’t think of anything else to say. Should she try to say something smart to impress Brooke? Should she just talk about something normal?

“How’s work?” Vanessa blurts.

Brooke tells her about the new order of books they received, and there’s such love and admiration in Brooke’s voice that it makes Vanessa tingle, her heart surging with affection for Brooke.

“You like to read a lot,” Vanessa says.

Brooke nods enthusiastically. “Yeah. I’ve pretty much always been that way. I’ve always had trouble sleeping, so I would either practice magic or read to fall asleep when I was younger.”

“No wonder you’re such a good witch, with all your midnight magic practice. My ass was snoring away.”

Brooke’s cheeks turn pink, and it makes her even cuter. Vanessa wishes she could rest her hand on Brooke’s cheek, let the warmth fill her.

“I just wanted to be really good. I’m the only witch in our year who doesn’t have magic parents. I didn’t want to be behind, or for the others to think I didn’t deserve to be there, you know?” Brooke explains.

Brooke’s constant studying and unbreakable focus makes more sense now. And it explains why Brooke had been doing third-year and sometimes even fourth-year level work at 11. Vanessa knows there had been a few girls who resented Brooke, complaining that it was unfair for her to be the best in their year when she didn’t even have magic parents. Vanessa had told them off once, Brooke’s quiet gentleness something she always wanted to protect, and still does.

Vanessa nods. “Yeah, I get that. You were always the best witch in class.”

“You were always the funniest,” Brooke counters.

“I guess I was, wasn’t I?” Vanessa cackles.

“That time you made the tomato fly at Silky–”

“That was an accident–”

“Sure it was.” Brooke smiles and Vanessa smiles back. How has this been so easy? Does Brooke like Vanessa as much as Vanessa likes her? She can’t, can she?

They talk idly about different TV shows, and the whole time, Vanessa is at war with herself, wondering if she’s imagining the sparkle in Brooke’s eyes, the shy smile Brooke keeps flashing at her. Does it mean what she thinks it means?

When Brooke starts to head out, Vanessa takes the leap.

“If you ever want to do this again sometime, just call me,” Vanessa offers at the door.

“I, um, I’d like that,” Brooke says. She lifts Matilda into her arms and sets off into the night, leaving Vanessa to thrust a victorious fist in the air while Bertha purses her beak.

—

“Nina, you have to help me!” Brooke cries the second she enters the shop the next morning.

Brooke was up most of the night replaying her dinner with Vanessa, trying to figure out if it seemed like Vanessa had been into her or if Brooke was just seeing too far into things. Vanessa had laughed and smiled a lot, but she usually did those things at coven meetings, and Brooke is stupid to think they had just been for her last night, even though each quirk of Vanessa’s lips makes Brooke’s whole body tingle.

“What is it?” Nina asks in worry as Brooke sits with her behind the counter. “Who do I have to beat up for you?”

Brooke snorts, a rush of affection for Nina–who personally came to see eleven-year-old Brooke and invite her to magic class–overcoming her panic. “We both know you’d never hurt anyone.”

“True.” Nina smiles. “Well, who do I have to lecture about kindness for you?”

“It’s nothing bad. It’s…I had dinner with Vanessa last night.”

Nina’s eyebrows fly up in excitement. “And?”

“And I–I really like her.” Brooke pauses, waiting for Nina’s reaction. But she doesn’t get one, Nina just nodding along expectantly.

“Oh, honey, am I supposed to be surprised?” Nina asks when she notices Brooke watching her. “Because you’ve been looking at her with heart-eyes for at least ten years now.”

Brooke knows Nina is right. From that very first meeting, when Brooke was trying not to throw up while surrounded by other witches who came from all-magic families, unlike her, Vanessa had brought a smile to Brooke’s face with her antics, joking around with the teachers. She was always nice to Brooke, and she didn’t think Vanessa knew, but Brooke had heard Vanessa once telling the other kids to stop saying mean things about her.

If there’s even a chance Vanessa does feel the same way, Brooke has to take it.

“You’re right,” Brooke agrees. “She said to call her if I want to do it again, and I want to. Can you help me with–with what to say?”

“Of course I can.”

Brooke’s hands sweat so much her phone almost slips through, but Nina keeps her steady in the office and all but commands Brooke to leave early so she can get ready.

Brooke drives home, mind buzzing with how fast Vanessa had said yes.

Vanessa really likes her.

It’s almost a form of magic itself.

—

Vanessa checks her phone so many times for a call or text from Brooke–just in case she didn’t hear the notification–that she has to plug it in while waiting for Brooke to pick her up for dinner.

She almost jumped up and down on her bed when Brooke called, giving what sounded like a nervously rehearsed offer of a date. Vanessa is pretty sure Nina was hissing instructions in the background, but she doesn’t care. She’s going on a date with Brooke. Brooke likes her. Likes her so much she called and asked her out

“What do you think, Bertha?” Vanessa asks, holding up two sweaters. “Pink or red?”

Bertha’s beak curves toward the pink.

“You’re right,” Vanessa agrees.

She pulls on the sweater and fixes her hair, each wave springing with the excitement of seeing Brooke. So what if she’s ready 30 minutes early, bouncing up and down like a kid? Vanessa breathlessly paces her kitchen, hand flying to her phone every five seconds.

6:00, and still no Brooke.

6:10 and Vanessa is starting to worry.

6:20 and she can’t fight the fear anymore.

Brooke is always the first one at every coven meeting and Vanessa doubts if Brooke has ever been late for a single thing in her life. There’s a part of her that can’t deny that something bad happened for Brooke to be late, and it makes her stomach clench.

And then the phone rings.

—

Brooke’s hands are shaking so badly she fumbles the call button twice, finally reaching Vanessa and feeling some panic fade at the sound of her voice.

“Brooke?” Vanessa asks.

“I…” Brooke’s voice is frozen.

“Brooke, what’s wrong?” There’s instant concern in Vanessa’s voice, and some part of Brooke’s mind registers that Vanessa is worried about her, cares that much about her.

“M-Matilda, a dog scared her and she-she ran off in the woods and I can’t find her and it’s raining and dark and–”

“Hey, hey, just breathe.” Vanessa’s voice is calm and steady, but it’s not enough for the avalanche of worry crushing Brooke. “The woods aren’t far from me. Why don’t I go look for her, and you can go home and try to work on a locator spell?” Vanessa suggests.

It makes sense; location spells are easier to do when you’re emotionally closer to what you’re looking for, but Brooke’s mind can’t focus on sense right now. “But I should be out searching, what if something happens?”

“It’s okay,” Vanessa soothes. “I’ll be there for her. We have a better chance of finding her if you do the spell.”

“Okay,” Brooke agrees shakily.

“We’ll find her, I promise,” Vanessa vows.

Brooke gathers up what she needs for the spell, but her heart is beating in her ears and her thoughts are moving too fast to focus.

Matilda has always been more than a cat to her. When she was 13 and up all night sweating and shivering and coughing with the flu, Matilda had moved all the tissues off her bed and woken Brooke’s parents when her fever got too high. When she was at her desk until 1am making sure her homework was perfect, Matilda would paw at Brooke’s leg or plop on her textbook until Brooke went to sleep. Every time Brooke was spiraling into worry about coven meetings or something she said to Vanessa, Matilda would settle into her lap until she calmed down. She let Brooke dress her in ridiculous sweaters and Halloween costumes without protest. Brooke didn’t even think she’d be able to sleep without her cat there.

She takes a breath and focuses.

—

Looking for a missing cat in the pouring rain is not how Vanessa expected her first date to go.

Rain patters against the hood of her coat, her hand throwing a light spell against the dark forest, and Vanessa shivers in fear that this will turn into some sort of horror movie.

She calls for the cat, unsure how in the world she’ll find it, but knowing she’s going to keep her promise to Brooke. She can’t imagine how scared she would be if Bertha ran away, and she wants to soothe Brooke’s fears.

She nears a clearing when something rustles, and then something crashes into Vanessa’s legs. She lets out a half-scream, then casts her light down to see a cat.

“Matilda!” Vanessa exclaims. She pulls the cat up to her chest. “Oh, thank God. Brooke’s been worried sick about you.”

Vanessa wraps the soaked cat in a blanket and speeds her way over to Brooke’s.

Brooke is running her hand through her hair when she answers the door, and her flushed cheeks and wide eyes form an expression Vanessa recognizes from magic school when Brooke was asked to perform spells in front of the class.

“Sorry Vanessa, I can’t talk, I’m trying to start the locator spell and–”

Vanessa just holds up the cat.

“–her location keeps moving so it’s hard to get the spell to work and I can’t really concentrate and I–”

“Brooke.”

“–don’t know why she’s been running off so much, she–”

“Brooke!”

“What–oh, you found her!”

Brooke takes Matilda into her arms and Vanessa can’t help but smile as Brooke kisses the cat’s nose, petting her fur and telling her not to run away again.

“Thank you so much for bringing her to me,” Brooke says.

“Oh, sure. It was no problem.”

“Do you–do you want to come inside for a bit? Since our date never happened? I can make tea if you want. Do you like tea? I don’t have any coffee–I don’t really like it, it makes me too jittery, but I can–”

“Tea is fine, Brooke.”

Brooke’s apartment is what Vanessa expected: cozy and neat and with a book collection rivaling a library’s. The home of someone who not only loves books, but who considers books a part of them. There’s two towering bookcases on either side of her TV, a rainbow of books from floor to ceiling. There’s old and new spellbooks, potion guides, and even regular fiction and fantasy books, all neatly ordered.

Vanessa spies a copy of Matilda on the coffee table, edges worn, cover slightly faded, clearly well-loved. She flips it open and sees a sticker reading This book belongs to on the inside cover, Brooke Lynn Hytes printed in a child’s careful lettering underneath. The tiny letters tug at Vanessa’s heart.

“Is that why you named her Matilda?” Vanessa asks as Brooke enters with a tray bearing mugs, honey, cream, and cookies.

Brooke hands her the red mug with owls on it, and Vanessa nods approvingly. They sink into the squashy couch together, and Vanessa smiles as Brooke’s eyes meet hers.

“Yeah. I almost went with Jiji, from Kiki’s Delivery Service, but I really liked Matilda. I was a lot like her when I was younger.” Brooke lowers her head and blushes. “And don’t laugh, but Miss Honey in the movie was kind of my lesbian awakening.”

Vanessa doesn’t laugh, but a smile does break free across her face. “I can’t laugh, Mary. Six-year-old me was in love with home girl Lavender.”

Brooke snorts into her mug decorated with books and cats. “In retrospect, that movie probably made a lot of girls gay.”

Vanessa laughs, and she sees a future of this for her and Brooke, of tea and laughs and brightly shared smiles.

Vanessa takes a breath. “Brooke, I really like you. I have for a long time, and it’s about time I told you.”

Brooke’s cheeks turn bright pink, and she smiles. “I like you too. Since we were teenagers, really. I never thought you’d like someone as quiet as me.”

Vanessa can’t help but smile at how Brooke has had the same problem as her all these years, how it could have been fixed it they just stopped being idiots. “I never thought you’d like someone as loud as me.”

Brooke laughs. “I like you because you’re loud, and courageous, and exciting.”

“And I like that you’re quiet. I like how determined and caring you are.”

“God, we’re both idiots, aren’t we?” Brooke shakes her head lightly, taking one of Vanessa’s hands. “Well, I like you. You like me. And that’s what matters now.”

“Absolutely,” Vanessa agrees, all she can really say because Brooke’s soft hand wrapped around hers is cutting off all the words Vanessa knows.

“Um, do you wanna watch a movie or something?” Brooke asks. “We could do Practical Magic, if you’re in a witchy mood.”

“I’m always in a witchy mood,” Vanessa answers.

She nestles up to Brooke on the couch, her body fitting perfectly against her side, and Vanessa feels safe and warm as the rain hammers down outside. She could definitely get used to this, and from Brooke’s smile and sturdy arm around her, she thinks Brooke has the same thought.

On the arm chair, Bertha settles down next to Matilda, throwing a wing over her as they drift off in celebration of a job well done.