The interviews and the photo shoot went very well for Y/N and Peyton who were now on their way to the signing session, which was scheduled at a local movie theater of all places. It wasn't really like the usual places such gatherings would've actually happened in, but Y/N couldn't change that. In fact, the big man was so couped up in his thoughts that he didn't listen to anything Peyton said while driving. Only when she playfully slapped his arm did Y/N get back on track.

Peyton:" Did you even hear anything I said to you in the last 20 minutes?"

Y/N:" Huh? Oh, sorry. I didn't hear anything. What was going on again?"

Peyton:" I said we need to pay close attention at the signings. Not every fan is harmless, so please do anything you can to keep yourself safe."

Y/N:" Right. We can't risk any injuries in such a situation."

Peyton:" Can I ask you something?"

Y/N:" You just did."

Peyton:" Haha, really funny. Anyways, what got you so occupied all day? You seem to be out of it right now."

Y/N:" What are you talking about? I'm fine."

Peyton:" You clearly have been locked inside your own mind, Y/N. You're only like this when something is really bugging you. So what is it?"

Y/N:" This persistence will be my downfall one day. Okay, there is something bugging me. I really have a bad feeling about that signing. Not about everyone, but something will go wrong sooner or later."

Peyton:" Are you sure? I mean yeah, these things don't always go smoothly, but I believe we will do fine."

Y/N:" You better be right about that. Otherwise you'll do my laundry for a month."

Peyton:" Hey, that's not how things go!"

Y/N:" Too late. You can't get out of this one now."

Peyton:" Sometimes you really are a jerk just for the fun of it, huh?"

Y/N:" That's who I am. You can say whatever you like. If it's so wrong, I don't wanna be right."

Peyton just huffed and continued to drive while Y/N chuckled softly and looked ahead. Today was weird in general, especially since the photographers wanted the two in some quite unusual poses for the shoot. And the interviewers asked a lot of personal and serious questions which really irritated them. Of course it was all still fun to do, but a lot of stuff didn't really sit well. Their mood got a bit better when they arrived at the movie theater, seeing all the excited fans who were anxiously waiting to get in.

Peyton:" Look at the line of people, Y/N. This is going to be exciting."

Y/N:" Without our fans, we couldn't wrestle to the extent we do these days. So a Meet&Greet is one of the things we can do to give something back to them."

Peyton:" Wise words, rookie."

Y/N:" Who are you calling a rookie, buttercup?"

Peyton and Y/N shared a laugh before parking and getting out of the car. Due to their intense past relationship, nicknames and all these emotional things were easy for them to discuss. Fans had been speculating, if they got back together at some point, but nothing has been confirmed. Peyton knew that it didn't work out the first time and Y/N had different things in mind when their short relationship ended, so there were no hard feelings between them at all. Fortunately they were able to enter through a side door to avoid any premature interactions.
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To say the Meet&Greet was going well was a big understatement. The fans really did keep themselves in check and were behaving very well towards everyone. Even the hardcore fanboys and fangirls were more peaceful. It only got out of hand once when someone accidentally spilled their drink on Braun who was about to just smash the poor guy through the wall. However, that fortunately didn't happen, but something else caught Y/N's attention. He spotted Alexa several feet away, seemingly talking to someone on the side. She looked like she was struggling to explain herself until...

The person who Alexa was talking to slapped and held her in a choke. This was enough to cause Y/N to get up and when he saw the person responsible for this, he was shocked.

Y/N:" Murphy, what the fuck are you doing?!"

Murphy:" This is none of your business, pal. So you better leave before I have to hurt you."

Y/N wasn't going to back away though as he separated Murphy's hand from Alexa's throat. He didn't expect his old roommate to be a violent man in such a context.

Y/N:" Hey hey, listen. What even is the damn problem?"

Murphy:" The problem is that Alexa has been flirting with other guys, you included."

Alexa:" We're not even together anymore, Murphy. I broke up with you months ago."

Murphy:" And that was a big mistake. Nobody just gets away like that."

Y/N:" Stop!... I don't know what is going on between you two, but it's clear that there's a big issue here. Murphy, you just heard Alexa say that you're not together anymore. Why do you want revenge over a break up?"

Murphy:" You really are the dumbest piece of ass I have ever seen, Y/N. I know about you two, how you always act as if you don't like each other. Fuck that masquerade. I thought you could at least be honest with me, but no. You're just as much of a fucking liar as Alexa is."

Alexa:" Me? Who is the one always checking out other girls or showing off?"

Murphy:" I only do it, because I know I'm worth it. This will have dire consequences, I swear."

And with that, Murphy walked away after causing a scene, leaving Y/N confused and angry while Alexa stormed off towards the restroom, crying her eyes out. In an instant, the day turned from bad to worse in a matter of minutes and that really wasn't nice. The fans looked at Y/N as he stood there, trying to process everything that just happened. Eventhough he didn't really admit it, Alexa was really becoming important to him and many of his friends could see it. Braun and Peyton walked over to the young man in order to shake him up a little.

Braun:" That really got out of hand. I feel really sorry for Alexa."

Peyton:" Me too. I'll go check on her. You two please stay here and take care of the situation."

Peyton quickly excused herself and walked towards the restroom while Braun shook Y/N from his current thoughts.

Braun:" Hey, earth to Y/N. Listen to me."

Y/N:" How am I supposed to listen when one of my friends gets abused and threatened like this?"

Braun:" Y/N, take a deep breath. I know Alexa pretty well by now, so I can say that she made it through a lot of things. But she needs all the support she can get. From the fans, from us, from her parents."

Y/N:" She's got my support, no matter what. That's for sure."

Braun:" That's good to hear. Sure, you both didn't have the best start, but I'm sure you can work something out. Just be there for her as good as you possibly can."

Y/N:" I will, Braun. Thank you."

Braun:" Anything for a friend. You're a good guy, Y/N. Even if you're rude sometimes."

Y/N:" Says the strongman who dressed up as Wonder Woman once."

Braun:" Don't tell me you still have a picture of that."

Y/N:" Of course I do. Everyone has emberrassing moments in life."

Y/N took out his phone and quickly searched up the image in question, showing it to the monster among men.

Y/N:" You seemed pretty happy there. Is there anything you would like to tell me?"

Braun:" Yes, you better delete that before you get these hands."

Y/N:" You wouldn't hurt me now, would you?"

The intense stare and knuckle cracking of Braun was enough to send a cold shiver down Y/N's spine, so the younger of the two quickly erased the picture from his gallery and put his phone away.

Y/N:" Remind me to never piss you off in any way."

Braun:" I have my ways to remind you that I can and will hurt you, if you do me wrong."

Y/N:" I'm screwed either way, aren't I?"

Braun:" Yeah, but hey. Don't take it too personal, if we wrestle and you lose, okay? We both know it's hard to beat a genetic freak."

Y/N:" You're not Scott Steiner, Braun."

This was only the beginning of a long series of conversations. Braun, Y/N and everyone else who was scheduled for the event were talking to each other now as most of the fans had left already in order to give everyone their privacy. It took Y/N a lot to stay focussed as he thought back to how Murphy was when they lived together.

------ Flashback ------

It was two and a half years ago when Y/N and Murphy first met. Back then, they were a lot different compared to their current selves. Y/N responded to an add Murphy put up in the newspaper at the time, so they were left talking on the phone.

Murphy:" Hello? How can I help you?"

Y/N:" Hi there, my name is Y/N L/N. I just saw your add about needing a roommate."

Murphy:" Ah yeah. My last roommate just moved out, so I can't really pay the rent myself. I put the add in to see, if there were any takers and because living completely alone sucks."

Y/N:" I can agree on that. Is the room still available?"

Murphy:" Yeah, it is. My adress is in the add too, so if you would like to have a look, you can come by."

Y/N:" Alright, I'll be on my way then. See you in a few."

Murphy:" See ya!"

It didn't take much for Y/N to get ready as he took the essentials he needed and got to his car, immediatly driving towards Murphy's place. Sure, both men had doubts about each other since they were strangers, but having a roommate was the better idea in their opinion. Only half an hour later, Y/N took a good look at the area he was in, trying to find the house. The neighbourhood seemed very nice, so living there was definitly better than where he was back then. Apparently there wasn't anything that stood out about Murphy's home, but the adress alone should've been enough. Y/N parked his car and walked towards what he hoped to be the right front door. He was nervous, this was all new to him. Inhaling deeply, he mustered up all his courage and rang the door bell, really wishing that everything would go well. A few seconds later, the door opened and the man in question looked at Y/N.

Murphy:" Can I help you?"

Y/N:" I'm Y/N. We just talked about 30 minutes ago."

Murphy:" Oh right. You're here for the room. I'm sorry for that. My head has been somewhere else just now."

Y/N:" It's no big deal, don't worry about it too much."

Murphy:" Right. Come on in. I'll show you around."

That was exactly what happened as Y/N walked into the house while Murphy gave him a tour, explaining everything that was going on with every section of every room. It was like Murphy was trying to sell the entire thing to Y/N, who was pretty surprised by how nice everything looked. Then it came down to the last room. Murphy opened the last door, revealing a pretty simple, but nice bedroom.

Murphy:" It's not much obviously, but this would be where you're sleeping."

Y/N:" It's better than a futon and a broken shelf. If there are no other takers you have on the backburner, I'll gladly take the room."

Murphy:" I only have two others to show around, but I'll keep you in mind. You can stay here for lunch. I ordered pizza a few minutes ago."

Y/N:" Sounds like a plan to me."

This was the beginning of their friendship. Lunch together and talking about what was going on in their lifes. Murphy was surprised to hear that Y/N was a NXT superstar, but that proved to make travelling a lot easier. They really got along pretty well back then.

------ Flashback End ------

Back in current times, Y/N was talking with the others, enjoying himself a little more than before. How one man could change so drastically was beyond him, but that wasn't the point of focus at the time. Peyton and Alexa soon came back as well and joined everyone, making sure the incident wasn't brought up again. Alexa was sitting very close to Y/N, having her head down and only a small smile on her face. Her eyes were reddened from crying and a lot of her make-up came off as well.

Y/N instinctively put his hand on top of Alexa's own while looking at her and whispering.

Y/N:" I'm not letting anyone hurt you like this or at all."

Alexa:" I'm sorry you had to witness this, Y/N. Murphy has been a thorn in my side for quite a while now."

Y/N:" I'll happily remove him, if you catch my drift."

Alexa:" Just be here for me now. That's all I want."

This brought a smile to Y/N's face as he carefully put an arm around Alexa to keep her close. Peyton noticed and mouthed a 'Thank You' towards Y/N. This was really a strange day for everyone, starting early with several messages from different people, then being reminded of everything that was scheduled for the day and at last this whole Murphy thing. Y/N was boiling inside as he thought about how to teach this man a lesson very very soon.