Welcome to the first chapter of Don't Look Back :)
I've had this fic on the brain for a while and I've already written the first four chapters so I'm super excited.

Just in case you want a little more info, the main characters are (in no particular order)...
Justin Gabriel, Kelly Blank, Cody Rhodes, Maryse Ouellet, Ted DiBiase, Eve Torres, Mike Mizanin, Tiffany Terrell and Jay Reso.

Phew! Now that's done, onto the first chapter!

FIVE YEARS ON

"Next!"

Working in casting was never going to be an easy job. From the outside looking in, it may have seemed simple but you had to find the perfect person, the one that you could truly believe is the person they're trying to portray. You go through hundreds of people – well, sometimes hundreds – in an attempt to find the one you're looking for and it's an exhausting process.

He didn't realise it was possible, but Cody Rhodes was tired of spending his day, deciding on which MILF was best suited for the laundry detergent commercial they were casting. As the twelfth MILF of the day left the room, his brother Dustin shot the woman a polite smile before turning to Cody, who mocked banging his head against the table.

"No more." His voice was muffled against the wood. "I can't take any more of them. Can't we just pick that last woman? She had a great smile and-"

"She couldn't sell Evian in the desert and that accent? Nails on a chalk board."

Dustin had been doing this a lot longer than Cody so the younger Rhodes knew to take his brother's advice, no matter how boring the job could get. In fact, it was Dustin that got his half-brother the job. After college, Cody had no idea what he wanted to do; those college advisors were no help whatsoever and he was left wondering where he was going to go with his media and communications degree. Dustin stepped in and offered Cody a job at his casting firm, giving him something to do whilst he sorted himself out. Time passed and Cody discovered it wasn't a bad job; he learnt a lot from it, plus he got along well with his brother so it was cool to spend time with him.

"Come on, we've got another five girls to see tomorrow, maybe one of them will do the job."

"You're optimistic." Cody stood up and stole a cigarette out of Dustin's pack. He lit it and took a drag, making his big brother roll his eyes. "What?" Dustin signalled at the 'NO SMOKING' sign on the wall, to which Cody grumbled and leaned out of the window.

"Smoking's a vile habit, you know."

"Says that guy whose pack I just took one out of."

"I've smoked for almost twenty years whereas you've just started now. It's a habit for me; I don't know how anyone can start in this day and age." He replied, shoving the pack into his pocket so Cody couldn't take anymore. "And isn't your girlfriend a nurse? Doesn't she badger you about all the health complications?"

"Yeah, well there are some things Mickie doesn't need to know." Cody responded. "Besides, I get stressed."

"Stressed? What have you got to be stressed about? Good looking guy with a stable job and an awesome girlfriend? Yeah, Cody, your life is fucked."

The younger Rhodes decided not to answer that. He finished his cigarette in silence, before stubbing it out on the windowsill and turning around to face his brother. "Guess what came in the mail this morning? Next month, it's my five year college reunion."

"Are you serious? It's been five years since you graduated? Damn." Dustin let out a low whistle. "And how long has it been since you lost touch with everyone?"

"We didn't all lose touch." He defended.

Dustin raised an eyebrow.

"Ted's still my best friend and Eve and I sometimes go out for a drink!"

"How recently is sometimes?" Cody didn't say anything. "When did you last see her?" Cody muttered something that sounded similar to 'last Christmas' proving Dustin's point perfectly. "Yeah, that 'friends forever' stuff never lasts. Usually you stay in touch with a couple of people but you make new friends. Like me." He shot his half brother a charming smile.

"Wow. Aren't I lucky?"

"Anyone you're particularly excited to see?" Dustin asked, filing away all his paperwork from the day.

Deciding not to say that one name that popped into his head, the dark haired man shrugged innocently, helping his brother with the paperwork. "No, not really-"

"Really? Not even that girl you were really good friends with?" Cody didn't speak, instead turning round to hide his colour-infused cheeks. "Her name slips my mind...come on, she was a really hot blonde; great personality, good body, the most beautiful smile ever."

Cody lied through his teeth and said "I have no idea who you're talking about."

"-yes, this is Kelly Blank." Kelly practically leapt on top of the telephone the second she heard it ring. That was, after she realised she'd left it in the bathroom that morning when she had her sister on speaker phone whilst she shaved her legs. Lesson learnt; when you're waiting for an important call from work, don't leave the phone away from its usual spot.

"What did you do wrong?"

Oh, how she despised her agent, Vickie Guerrero. The woman was pure evil and her voice just made Kelly want to scream but unfortunately, she was one of the best agents in the city and a good agent was exactly what a struggling actress like herself needed as she tried to break into the world of acting. Vickie was an absolute witch that did nothing but criticise Kelly but unlike her past agent, Vickie at least got her auditions.

"Did you talk too much? Did you wear that low-cut red top I left outside your apartment? You know what I've told you about showing skin, you need to flaunt those babies as much as possible. In this industry, it's hard to find a good pair of natural-"

"I'm guessing I didn't get the part." She would've killed for that role; it was only a small part – the barmaid with two lines – but it was a part in a Matt Damon movie. Matt Damon, for God's sake. This kind of movie would get her real recognition, even if all she was saying was 'What can I get you?' and 'Here you go.'

"No, you didn't get the part and I want to know why. That part was perfect for you and somehow you managed to blow it. What the hell are you gonna do about it, Barbie?"

Kelly had to grit her teeth so she didn't slam the phone down. Because of the girl's long blonde hair, good looks and perky attitude, Vickie always called her Barbie. Sometimes, her friends said it innocently but when it was Vickie, it sounded so degrading and rude. "I guess I'll just try a little harder next time."

"That you will. It's no Matt Damon movie but there's a part in The Young and the Restless. Once again, it's a two line part but you never know what it will lead to. The audition's next week so I'll email you the audition info." Without saying anything else, Vickie hung up.

The blonde knew it wouldn't be easy to get into the acting industry – it was all her tutors at college told her – but she didn't estimate how hard it would actually be. Kelly had always been the girl that got the main role in the school plays – she was Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, Tallulah in Bugsy Malone and pretty much any other female lead role you could think of. She wasn't as clever as her other classmates – she wasn't dumb, she just didn't have 'book smarts' – but she worked her ass off and got the grades she needed for the performing arts course she was taking at college.

Five years had passed since graduation and it was just as difficult getting work now as it was back then. Acting jobs were like gold dust and were often poorly paid so Kelly had to work as a waitress at a local Italian restaurant to pay the bills. If it weren't for getting to deal with nice customers and her fellow waitress/struggling actress/good friend Kaitlyn, she'd probably go crazy.

Sighing, she put the house phone back in its usual spot before flopping down on the couch and turning on some crappy daytime TV. Her shift at Marcella's wasn't until six so she had a good five hours worth of doing absolutely nothing, other than waiting for Vickie to send her the brief for her next audition.

"Clean House, again?" The door of the apartment opened and in came Kelly's boyfriend Justin, who shook his head sadly at the home makeover show. "You need to get a life." His teasing was in good humour, as he came and sat down on the couch next to her and kissed her on the cheek before getting comfortable, draping an arm over her shoulders.

Justin Gabriel was pretty much the perfect guy in Kelly's eyes and she felt lucky to call him her boyfriend after so many years together. The pair met in junior year of high school when he moved from Cape Town, South Africa. He was being shown around by a friend of Kelly's and the pair were instantly set up on a date. Their first date was a trip to the movies followed by dinner at the best restaurant in her hometown of Jacksonville. They clicked straight away and became inseparable, making in all the way through high school. They even applied and went to the same college together for a little while but after the first semester, Justin got an offer he couldn't refuse.

In high school, he was scouted by a modelling agency and had always done a little bit of part-time work but in college, he found out one of the Los Angeles Fashion Week organisers had seen his portfolio and they wanted him to model for a few of their shows.

His agent told him that an opportunity like this could lead to so much more – real Hollywood modelling work – and if he said yes, school would have to take a backseat. Justin spent a lot of time debating whether he should go or not and he eventually decided that it was a once in a lifetime chance. His education was very important to him but he could always return to college but something like this might not come around again.

No-one thought Justin and Kelly would last when he went to L.A. They were the perfect, sweet couple but with Justin on the West Coast and Kelly back east, surely things would come to an end? But no, they managed to make it work. Whenever Justin had a break, he'd come back and visit his girlfriend and Kelly even flew out to California on one occasion to surprise him. What the pair had was a loving bond that even distance couldn't break and having been together for so long, they seemed indestructible.

Where love lasted, money and fortune didn't. They got by but Justin's LA money had run out over time and now the pair lived together in their small East Coast apartment. Justin was trying to find modelling work whilst working as a lifeguard at the local pool and Kelly was an actress and waitress. It wasn't exactly a fairytale but they were happy enough.

"I take it you haven't opened the mail today?" Justin signalled over at the pile of envelopes on the coffee table. She shook her head and leaned forward to tear into a couple. The last one she pulled open was the only one that caught her interest in any way and Justin saw this as she went quiet whilst she read. "What does it say?"

"It's the invite to the five year college reunion." She laughed, surprised. "Can you believe five years have passed since I graduated? It's insane."

"You must be excited to go back and see everyone." The South African commented.

"Me? You're coming too as well. You went to college there as well!"

"I went there for one semester! I didn't keep in touch with anyone other than you." He didn't seem sad about it, it was just the way things went. A couple of months weren't really long enough to make life-long friends.

"The only people I kept in touch with are Tiffany and Eve and that's why a reunion will be a great chance to see everyone again." Kelly got to her feet and walked over to the mirror to begin examining her non-existent roots. "I'm excited now...oh God, I need to get the money together to get my hair done – my roots are terrible – plus I need to buy a new dress-"

"You haven't seen anyone in five years, they won't know if your dress is new or not!"

"That's not the point." She stepped to the side and ran a hand over her slim stomach. To earn some more money, she'd been taking extra shifts at the restaurant and was eating Italian food for dinner every night and was therefore worried it was starting to show. "You don't think I'm-"

"You look amazing." Justin read her mind and stood up, walking over to his girlfriend and standing next to her in front of the mirror. "All the guys at the reunion are going to be very jealous of me because I'm with the most beautiful girl to graduate from the whole class."

"Babe," A smile stretched across Kelly's lips as she turned around to wrap her arms around her boyfriend's neck and plant a kiss on his lips. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." He kissed her back, grabbing her by the thighs and hitching her legs up so they went around his waist. "What time do you have to be at work?"

"Six."

"Well, that gives me plenty of time to have my wicked way with you." Their lips met once again in a passionate kiss as Justin carried his giggling girlfriend into the bedroom and dropped her down on the bed that was waiting for them.

Hope you enjoyed and please leave a review! :) xx

Next time – A big crack is beginning to show in the marriage of Maryse and Ted DiBiase.