Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or real people involved in this story. The characters belong to WWE, and the real people own themselves. This is a work of fiction. There will be swearing, and maybe some adult situations. If this offends you, maybe this isn't the right story for you.

A/N: Another new Dolph/AJ story from me, I love them, I can't help it! Anyways, this story was an idea from Jodi (StephanieIrvine), and it's based around the "Outside the Ring" video where Dolph goes on 5 blind dates (if you haven't seen the video, it's on YouTube, and I highly recommend it because he's ridiculously adorkable in it).

It's an AU in that AJ is not part of the wrestling business. It'll become clearer once you read it. I'm still wary of posting for this couple, though I feel like I'm getting better with it. So reviews are just the best thing ever, and if you could leave me some, that'd be great. Tell me if you want to continue or not, and I'm a big girl so if you want to be brutal, go right ahead.

Hope you enjoy! :)

There were a lot of single guys in the WWE.

Yet, here he was, about to go on not one, not two, not three, but five, five blind dates. And lucky him, he got to have it filmed for all the world to see. The worst part was that it did not fit with his personality, not the one he projected to the world, that guy was a ladies man to a fault, always talking about how he was stealing the show and people's girlfriends. In real life, that was about as far from the truth as possible. Sure, he had some game, but he wasn't the most suave man on the planet, and now he was forced to be something he wasn't to a bunch of strange women.

The cameras followed him inside and he went and sat at a table. The rest of the restaurant was empty, which just made this even more uncomfortable for him. It wasn't like he needed a girlfriend right now. He was just out of a relationship a few months before, and he wasn't exactly screaming for a new girlfriend, especially one that wasn't going to understand the business or be able to travel with him. This was going to be a disaster, he could just feel it.

The first four dates passed in a blur. One of them was a fashion designer, or so she claimed, another was model, again so she claimed. Actually, scratch that, model was just one of the five things she said she did. He could actually picture her as a waitress trying to make it any of those other professions, but he was too much of a gentleman to say anything. One of them kept looking at him like he was a criminal after he said he was a professional wrestler, and one reminded him too much of Vickie, who he liked as a friend, but did not want to date. None of them grabbed him, and they all liked Dane Cook, which was a deal-breaker in and of itself.

By the fifth girl, he was about ready to throw this salad in Vince McMahon's face for ever approving of this YouTube show. Then he'd throw the water in his face too and walk out with his head held high. He didn't sign up for a dating service. He signed up to be a wrestler. This was not wrestling; this wasn't even real life. And if he never heard the name Dane Cook again, it would be too soon. At least there was just one more left. Only one of the four previous girls had even held his attention for more than five minutes, but when he intimated that he would hang out with her outside of the show, she'd shot him down.

He wished he could say that was his first rejection, but he'd been through it before, and he'd be through it again so he took it with the grace and aplomb necessary of the situation. It was probably better anyways. He lived in Phoenix and these girls lived in LA, and that wasn't close. Now he was just justifying being rejected. Maybe he should pre-reject this last girl so the pressure was off this date.

"Dolph Ziggler?" a timid voice spoke up, and he threw his head up, throwing on his best fake smile. He was surprised because she looked nothing like the other girls.

She was petite with dark hair, wavy and loose around her face. She was wearing black-rimmed glasses, and while all the other girls had dressed to look provocative, she was dressed for comfortableness. Her dress didn't give away any cleavage, and it wasn't tight or short. It was black with a little cut out on the top and not spaghetti strapped or intricate. It almost had sleeves, but not quite, and there appeared to be a skeleton design down one-half of the front, going off into a slightly flared skirt. She wasn't wearing high heels, and doesn't look like the type of girl that would wear them under any circumstances. Instead, she was wearing a pair of light blue high top Converse.

She was different, he could tell already. She didn't go up and immediately hug him or start putting on some bubbly personality. Instead, she gave him a shy smile, sticking out her hand almost awkwardly and he took it, shaking it before she pulled it back. "Hi," he said, giving her a welcoming smile, hoping it would lighten her up a little. She gave him a tentative smile back.

"Hey, so you're Dolph, yes?" she asked again, and he realized he never actually said anything to the affirmative, though she probably knew who he was, all things considered.

He nodded his head, "Yeah, I'm Dolph, Dolph Ziggler, or if you prefer, Ziggler, Dolph Ziggler," he finished in a really bad British accent, hoping to make her laugh. She did, just a little and it eased her up a little bit.

"I'm April," she told him, "but you can call me AJ."

"AJ, cool name, what's the J stand for?" he wondered.

"Jeannette," she answered, "April Jeannette, but I just prefer AJ, I think it's better, suits me, really."

"You do look like an AJ," he told her nicely. He lead her over to their table, where there's his fifth salad and water waiting. He pulled out the seat for her, and she took a seat, biting her lip and staring a little bit at the camera, as if were going to jump at her and eat her. "Don't mind the cameras, they're not allowed to talk to us."

She looked down at her plate and back up at him, "Okay, I'll try. So…I've never really done this before."

"You've never been on a date?" he asked. She did look young, but not that young.

"No, no, no," she shook her head vigorously, sending her hair into her face. She quickly brushed it out of the way, messing up her hair in the process. He didn't have the heart to tell her that she had one strand that was so far out of place that it was about to fall in her face. When it did, she blew it out of the way impatiently, but it kept coming back so she finally reached up her hand and pushed it out of the way. "I just mean like blind date in front of camera thing."

"It's okay, it's my first time too, well, my fifth first time."

"And knowing I'm the fifth girl you've been on a date with is a little awkward," she told him, biting her lip.

"I'll try to make it painless," he promised her. "So what do you do?"

"I work for DC Comics, I'm a little bit of a comic nerd," she told him, "it's something I always wanted to do. I mean, it's not much, I don't do anything big, I'm just an editor, so it's not really a big deal."

"That's really cool," he said, though he wasn't such a huge comic fan. He'd read some every now and then, but it wasn't really his thing. Although he knew a couple of guys in the business who would practically be drooling over her for that fact alone. "I bet you're really good."

"I try," she shrugged. He was just glad to hear that she wasn't a "model" or a "fashion designer." "What do you do?"

"I'm a wrestler."

"Oh wow, like, the kind that go to the Olympics or the kind that has entrance music and stuff?"

"Well, I did wrestle as an amateur, but I didn't go to the Olympics, just up until college, then I became a professional wrestler."

"Cool, cool," AJ nodded, "so we're both kind of in professions where things are a little bit crazy, huh?"

"Yeah, it would seem so," he told her, "so you like comics?"

"I do, and you like…"

"A lot of things," he told her, wishing the conversation could be better. This girl wasn't like the others, but it was more of the same awkwardness, and this whole thing was just such a disastrous idea. He was crashing and burning, and his reputation as being smooth was shattered going to be shattered forever. At least people would get a kick out of his utter failure. Maybe they'd even laugh at him.

"Name one," she ordered him.

"Well, I like comedy, stand-up I mean, do you have a favorite stand-up comedian?" he asked her, fully expecting another Dane Cook answer. He'd perfected his fake smile over that even as he muttered curse words after they said it.

"Well, I really enjoy observational humor the best, and I kind of have love for Donald Glover and Stephen Merchant right now. And I know they were both actors first, but if you've seen any of their specials, they are actually really great at stand-up."

"I haven't, but now I'm actually interested," Dolph was just happy she didn't say Dane Cook, but that didn't mean he was in the clear, "So what do you think of say…Dane Cook?"

"No thank you, I have taste," she laughed, taking a sip of her water.

"Thank God, if I had to hear one more woman say they liked him," he shook his head, "I would have probably cracked and gone crazy. So, do you like your salad?"

"As far as salads go, it's great," she told him, "so what are you looking for in a woman or a relationship?" She warily eyed the cameras again, and yeah, she wasn't made for cameras, he could tell. She kept gulping and drinking water so fast she was almost done with hers. The other girls seemed to love having the camera there, playing it up, tossing their hair back and puckering their lips.

"Well, I like smart, independent women who can really go toe-to-toe with me."

"That's cool," she said, pushing the lettuce around the plate.

"So uh…what do you do for relaxation?" he asked her. "Wait, let me guess, you…read comic books?"

"Pretty much, or I play video games or watch TV…wow, when I put it like that, I sound really boring."

"No, you don't sound boring," he told her, but she was so different from anything he was looking for. They seemingly had nothing in common, and while she was better than the rest of the girls, she wasn't his type, he could tell already. That didn't mean they couldn't enjoy a nice…salad though.

"Thanks," she told him. They made small talk the rest of the meal, but both of them could read the writing on the wall.

"Let me walk you out?" Dolph said as they stood up to say goodbye.

"That's alright," she shook her head, "I think I can manage. It was really nice meeting you though, and I hope you do well with your wrestling."

"And you with the comic books," he nodded his head at her. She shook his hand again and then she was gone.

He let out a breath he had been holding in for hours now and sat down heavily. "I'm so glad I'm done with that. Remind me to never go on a blind date for the rest of my life. I'm so done with that."

The camera crew laughed as they packed up. He sat there for a few minutes more, wondering if he could have a stiff drink sent to him. He opted for getting out of here and getting the first plane back to Phoenix. He wanted his bed, and he wanted his house, and his clothes, and he wanted to do nothing for the rest of his time off. He stood up and walked out of the restaurant. He turned to walk to his rental when he saw AJ sitting down on bench just outside.

"AJ?"

She looked up and smiled at him, "Sorry, just waiting for my ride."

"If you need a ride, I don't really have anywhere to be," he told her. "I could take you where you need to be."

"Yeah, get in a car with a complete stranger…not my idea of a good idea," she joked.

"Hey, we just went on a super awkward date, I think that can qualify me for driving you where you need to be," he told her with a shrug. "I mean, you don't have to take me up on the offer, but if you think I'm going to let you sit here alone, not going to happen."

He went over and plopped himself down next to her on the bench. "You really don't have to stay."

"I know I don't, but I'm not about to leave you here, that's rude, I'm not a rude guy, horribly awkward, sure, but not rude," he told her and she laughed, much freer than she had inside. "Trust me, I didn't like the cameras being there either."

"I'm so glad it wasn't just me," she pushed her glasses up. "I felt so awkward, I'm not usually such a weirdo…okay, yes I am, but not that big a one."

He ducked his head, "Me neither, I promise you, I'm not a creep and I don't like salad that much." She got a guffaw out of her and he laughed because she was actually a lot cuter when the pressure of the camera was off. "Hey, since you have no ride and I have nowhere to be, why don't we get a real meal, something with meat?"

"I know a good burger place that's not far," she told him.

"A burger sounds like heaven right now," he told her. "We can do this date thing over again and maybe without the added pressure? To be honest, you're the only girl who was remotely interesting and who wasn't trying to make it as an actress or something."

AJ pulled her fingers through her hair, "Wow, actress, I could never…but yeah, I wouldn't mind trying this over again."

"Well then, first things first, my name is Nick, and it's nice to meet you," he told her, sticking his hand out again. She tilted her head and he explained further. "Dolph Ziggler is my wrestling name, my real name is Nick Nemeth."

"Nice to meet you, Nick, I'm still AJ, AJ Mendez," she told him, shaking his hand again.

He tugged on her hand, "Come on, let's see if we can do this whole thing better."

"Here's hoping."