_____It's all the same, you take the world and I take the blame...

second month of reign ;

The world around her starts spinning around, as if she's stuck in a never ending replay that forces her to relive the same irksome moment over and over until her brain implodes.

Unpleasant words echo inside of her brain and become louder and louder each step she's taking forward.

While Sasha is cautiously marching toward his room, she catches herself thinking that the hotel's corridors never seemed so empty and frightening before.

With the darkness always surrounding her she certainly shouldn't be scared of the monsters hidden in the shadows, ready to slaughter her freil body in a minute, but it turns out she still is.

To reassure herself she tightens up the grip around the notebook hold inside her bare hands. She may foolishly expect the precious pages to help her battle the demons within her soul but what she's surely not mistaking about is the fact they'll be the key to her carreer's saving.

Countless void meetings indeed already occured through her short title run and The Devil itself made a clear point to blame the redheaded for the awful ratings his shows are starting to get again.

Vince had the nerve to exclaim that, although he used Becky as a place-holder waiting to find a greater candidate for the product, even her was a better fit than the "worst waste of space he's seen in years".

Afraid that she may lose the object she's struggled for so long to make hers, she fortunately inherited of golden advices from the one people used to refer as "the weakest champion in WWE's history."

Well accustomed to the pressure of both the company and the detractors outside of it, Seth took the matter at heart and reminded her that the only person willing to strip her from her title is nobody else but her.

After all, who's the one that would have to go down to the map and abandon her dreams in a blur of three seconds ? A destroyed and hopeless version of her, trading her ferocity and resiliency for cowardness and stupidity.

Luckily for her, neither one or the other ever described her as she thrived her whole life to erase the terrific examples a couple of her love ones used to.

Therefore Banks and Rollins rolled out of bed around 5 am and locked themselves up inside of a rented car, all in order to reassess her strategy's strengths and weaknesses.

He blessed her with his twisted yet wised experience for a couple of hours before he had to attend his reeducation's session, a resigned expression written all over his features.

She gently brushed his arm while getting out of the vehicle, dropping her off right in front of the establishment after she realized she forgot her gear there, disappointed that she couldn't support him as he's going through hell and back yet another time.

He winked back at her, letting her know that he'd be just alright on his own - especially since he had for habit to be pretty lonely on the top of the mountain.

While he took off she couldn't help but stay put for quite some time, admiring him vanishes far away and noiselessly thanking him for looking after her when he had no apparent reason to do so.

The buzzing of her phone eventually brings her to snap out of it and, the second she overhears a mocking and out of breath Kevin at the other end of the phone, she instantly comprehends that she'd be in for a trip.

Little did she know however : that kind of trip may either lead you to the peace of mind or directly to insanity.

Sasha solely grasped pieces of information, meaningful key words here and there since the moment he pronounced the taboo words : "talked about" "feelings" "for Sami" in the same sentence.

"Bienvenue."* The Canadian happily chanted in his first and loved language before hanging up on a disconcerted Banks.

For a brief moment a very agreeable and missed feeling invades her trembling figure as she finds herself regaining hope.

Hoping that perhaps, the strange ability Zayn has to revive the reminiscence of her pure heart is a tremendous sign she never should have let go of it in the first place.

Hoping that maybe, Seth's revelation had for sole purpose to ease her pain, allowing Sasha to move on from her broken trust thanks to a white lie.

Hoping that there may be a slightest chance that, somewhere deep within his damaged soul, the light would ultimately shine through, blinding the shadows about to surround the Canadian.

Hope, hope, hope and a hurtful crash.

Breathing heavily as their lips part from another, instinctively reacting to the door's noise and the sight of an horrified Sasha, shock taking the upper hand entirely.

Motionless and numbed, her entity doesn't seem to feel any pain at first - it's still trying to make sense out of the situation.

Her worst nightmare suddenly becomes one troubling reality and, even though she should have seen it coming for weeks, a small parcel of her heart wanted to believe she didn't place her trust and feelings into someone who'd betray it all, again.

Eyes fixed upon Sami, the Boston native just can't move out of the way and probably unconsciously inflicts herself more damages than she could possibly handle.

Zayn carelessly grabs the nearest shirt present inside of the confined space, ultimately meeting her gaze and shooting daggers that only send shivers down her spine.

Although Emma's apologies aren't enough to reach through her absent self, the moment her soft touch connects with Banks' freil arm ultimately triggers an indescribable pain within herself.

She realizes that this is her reality and, in an useless attempt to escape from it, she runs away - a piece of her heart breaking and tracing an uneven line on the cold floor.

She tries to blame about anyone for the hurtful scene she just witnessed, from Kevin who dared speaking about her feelings for Zayn to the key player, to Emma who's supposed to be by her side no matter what.

But in the end, the only person causing her torments is the same broken image staring back at her in the mirror.

__________

couple of weeks later ;

The Echo is named like this for a reason as pounding noises resonate so loud inside of your brain it almost feels like it may just disconnect all of your neurons, smothering your logic in the process so the taste of a depraved night would rest on the tip of your tongue, forcing you to beg for more.

The colourful lights blind her dark thoughts as the woman declaring she's willing to "bury the hatchet" greets her with a sincere smile and a brief awkward hug before leading her to the table she's reserved.

The bar they crashed in is filled by numerous lost souls, unable to face their fears and doubts until the night falls and the unbearable music prevents them from doing so.

Clouds of smoke surround the two wrestlers as Sasha repeatedly coughs, hating cigarettes since her mom would constantly fill with it their tiny house - a destructive habit becoming her only painkiller.

Suspect syringes and teenagers making out on the filthy couch next to them would normally alert her, but this time around she simply shrugs, too emotionally exhausted to judge anybody.

"Mercedes, look I-" Emma eventually mumbles after playing with her curls for over ten minutes, unsure she's capable of finding the right words to pacify the entire situation.

Sasha slightly jumps at the mention of her real name, tenderly pronounced by an old friend. Ashamed of her reaction from weeks ago, she chooses to take refuge in the infinite of silence.

"I don't know why I didn't tell you earlier, I just felt like it wasn't such a big deal.

Then the whole snitch's theory started and Sami flipped out, so I figured you may point the finger at me afterwards." The Aussie spits out so rapidly you'd swear she didn't even breathe throughout the entire speech, anxiety easily readable on her tense features.

"Besides, whatever the thing we had going on is over now. He put an end to it." She makes a point to remark, her bright blue eyes momentarily sadden as the words escape her soft lips.

"What if we forget that whole thing ever happened, for one night at least ?"Emma practically pleades, an apologetic look fixed upon Sasha and guilt laced inside of her troubled soul.

Few seconds are needed for her to swallow the pill and to link her finger with the blonde's one in the pinkie promise the former team PCB inspired themselves from - Paige, Emma and Sasha being well acquainted to each other since NXT.

Back then she couldn't help but to look up to the two women who broke down walls regarding women's wrestling in the WWE. Remembering how proud she was for these two is enough to get her emotional and, as the Australian hands her a drink, she concludes that one night only in which she lets go of all her demons would be much appreciated.

Innocent laughters contrast with the menacing and wicked atmosphere of the bar, ultimately drowning both of their sorrows in countless cups and shameless dance sessions.

Perhaps Sasha lost the only human being able to reach through her former golden heart, but what if she just found herself an healthy and lasting painkiller in Emma ?

________

E L E N A ;

Can Emma + Sasha truly get back on the same page ? (little contrast with the first time Em called her Mercedes and she basically menacingly answered, isn't it ? yes, I do adore parallels)

Why cutie pie Sami would send daggers look to Banks ?

What will be the repercussions of Sasha's night off ?

*"Bienvenue" is the french-canadian word of "you're welcome" in english and "je t'en prie / de rien" in french. ;)

Thanks a lot for each read and vote, it truly warms my heart and I love you all! xxx