I'm a horrible piece of trash, so so sorry that this has taken me so long to update this story! Things have just gotten super crazy with family life and university (ya girl made it to her Honours year... somehow!) and I've hardly had the time to write anything that wasn't a lab report or an essay.

I can't guarantee that I'll be able to update this soon but optimistically, it'll be in a few weeks (that's the best I can offer, unfortunately!)

Hopefully, you guys will like this chapter. I know there's not much to it, but I'm at a bit of a crossroads as to where to take this story. Speaking of which - I have a poll on my profile, please please vote in it as, not only am I terrible at updating, I am terrible at making decisions. Also, as usual, please leave a review to let me know what you think! Thanks again guys. I love you, awesome nerds!

THAT FRIDAY, INSIDE JAMES' CAR

"Well, that was certainly something," mused James as he and Ashley watched on in a mixture of disbelief, horror and amusement as both of their dates for that evening were taken away by the police. His companion huffed out a laugh, running a hand through her blonde hair as she did.
"That's one way of putting it. Sorry to get you dragged into that mess; I swear he didn't seem like a douchebag."
"Hey, don't worry about it. It made my Friday a lot more entertaining than it was going to be, so there's that. Are you okay though? That drink he threw didn't get on your clothes right?" Ashley quickly inspected her outfit for any stains or marks that weren't there when she and James first entered the restaurant, frowning when she found a patch of her red shirt that was darker than it should be.
"Ugh, that idiot got his whiskey on my shirt. I doubt it'll come out." The blonde threw her head back exasperatedly, hating that what was supposed to be a nice quiet evening had turned into such a shit show. Neither of the wrestlers even knew how the fight had started. Both of them had gone to the bathroom and by the time that they made their way back to the booth that they were seated at, Ashley's date - Will - was screaming in a waiter's face while James' date - Erica - was being held back by two other patrons. Drinks and glasses began to fly and before long, the police were hauling the pair, kicking and screaming into separate police cars.

Noticing that Ashley was getting upset, James glanced at the time and, seeing that it was still relatively early, quickly came up with an idea.
"How about we go shopping?" He blurted out, prompting the car's other occupant to turn and face him in confusion.
"Uh, what? I mean, that's nice and all James but it's okay, I got us into this stupid situ-" Ashley was cut off before she could continue to blame herself.
"Enough of that, neither of us are to blame for their stupid decisions. It's still early though so all that remains to be asked is: do you trust me?"
"Sure..." she trailed off before noticing James' almost manic grin and adding, "wait, we're not going to get in trouble are we?"

All she got was a maniacal laugh in return.

TWENTY MINUTES LATER, IN A COSTUME STORE

"This is insane. No, actually - YOU are insane!" Ashley said through a fit of laughter as James disappeared into the changing area of the small costume store that he'd brought her to. She'd managed to avoid having to wear any of the Halloween costumes that the man had tried to coerce her into trying on. Instead, she found herself laughing as James emerged from the changing area in increasingly ridiculous costumes. So far, he had been Batman, Robin Hood, a crocodile and Ashley's personal favourite - a lady leprechaun. After she stopped giggling, the blonde took several photos and a video of James attempting Irish dancing which was promptly sent to Becky. The ensemble that the Englishman was currently trying on had been kept under wraps though. As soon as he'd spotted it in the 'sports' section, he snatched it into his arms and ran to the changing area before she could see it. That was about ten minutes ago and James still hadn't appeared from behind the curtain separating the rest of the store from the changing area. She was about to ask what was taking him so long when, mortifyingly, the all too familiar sound of her dad's entrance music started to fill the store much to the confusion of the elderly lady standing behind the register.

"Oh my god, this is not happening..." Ashley mumbled, covering her face with her hands to try and block out the sight of James in full Ric Flair get up, white-blonde wig and robe included. Only when he let out a loud 'Woo!' did she drop her hands, shaking her head despite the wide smile on her face at the man's ridiculous behaviour.
"What'd you think?! Do you reckon I can pull off the robe look?" James asked cheekily, letting out another 'woo' and beginning to strut.
"Jeez, I swear I don't know you. Who are you?"
"Come on! Strut with me, I need a pro to show me how!" He then purposefully done a terrible strut, prompting Ashley's eyes to bug out in horror.
"That was possibly the worst strut I've ever seen. No, I know what you're doing... Don't you give me that look, Moran!"
"Pwetty pwease, Ash... For me?" James put on his best imitation of the puppy dog eyes that Ryan gave him when he wanted something. It didn't seem to be working and after a minute or so, he was resolved to dropping it until he noticed a twinkle of amusement in Ashley's eyes which was soon followed by a sigh of resignation, although the woman was still smiling.
"Just once then we never speak of this again," Ashley said, shaking her head in amusement as jumped up and down, doing a fist pump in celebration.
"You're the best! The GOAT even! Just once, I pinky promise." He extended his pinky towards her. She jokingly rolled her eyes and linked pinkies with him, muttering about how he was 'an adult-sized child'.

Checking that there was no one around, which there wasn't, the two of them began strutting for a couple of beats of the music, James finishing his strut with an obnoxiously loud 'woo'.
"Okay, I think it's past your bedtime... Actually, what time is it?" Ashley asked, checking her watch for the first time since they arrived at the costume store. "Jeez, we've been here for ninety minutes! We should probably go, I told David that I'd call him later and he'll worry if I don't.
"Sure, no worries. Let me just change and pay for this and we can-"
"Uh-uh, absolutely not. You're not buying that." James went to argue but stopped when he saw the look on his friend's face.
"You're no fun..." he mumbled as he disappeared behind the curtain once again.

BACK AT THE HOTEL

"Hey, Ash, we're back at the hotel. C'mon, time to wake up." James said quietly as he gently shook the blonde who'd fallen asleep in the passenger seat. They'd just pulled into the parking lot of their hotel, so as adorable as the former Women's champion looked, it was time to head inside.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you, it's just been an eventful night." She apologized as she stirred, yawning and stretching as she did.
"Don't sweat it, I fall asleep when I'm the passenger all the time. We've got to head inside though. Wait there and I'll get the door for ya."

By the time that they'd made it into the elevator, they'd fallen into a conversation about work and possible upcoming storylines, the quiet elevator music filling in any breaks in the conversation. All too soon though, they reached the floor where Ashley was rooming with Becky and they both got out - James opting to walk her to the door then take the two flights of stairs to his floor instead.
"Guess this is me then... Wow, that was so cliche," she mumbled, fishing around in her purse for her keycard.
"Just a little." The sound of an iPhone message notification could be heard, coming from James' pocket, but he ignored it. "So, I guess I'll see you in the morning?"
"Sure, thanks for tonight James. It turned out pretty good. Goodnight." The two hugged and James turned to walk towards the stairs, but stopped when Ashley quietly called out his name. "Do you want to do that again? Go out I mean, not the dressing up as my dad and dates getting arrested thing. You know what forget I said anything, I just had a nice tim-"
"Hey Ash," interrupted James with a laugh, stopping the word vomit spewing out of Ashley's mouth. "I'd like that."
"Oh, shit really? Great... I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Night Fliehr." Ashley disappeared behind her room door, smiling with a slight blush. Seeing the door close behind her, James pulled his phone out, his heart dropping when he saw what it read:

Unknown number James, I know you don't want to talk to me, but it's your mum.