Requested by MakhineGanKaller14

I'm sorry this took me so long!  I've actually got a story in my drafts based on this song, and it's also about Tye Dillinger, so I wanted to make sure this wasn't too similar to that, if that makes sense. (also, the requests before this took me a little while, too)

I also just watched the WWE 24 about Finn Balor, so I may have gotten some inspiration from that.

I finally write a Tye/OC one-shot just as I change the cover to him no longer being on it. xD

A bit of backstory: this takes place before Tye went to the main roster, and everything is in NXT.  This is at an NXT live event, a week before NXT Takeover: Toronto.

Anyway, I hope you like it!

How Did You Love? - Shinedown

I sat backstage, in the trainer's room.

My match earlier in the night, against Liv Morgan, did not go as planned.  I was supposed to be facing Asuka this weekend at Takeover, and it would be for the title.  However, that whole plan went out the window when Liv kicked me in the knee, and I felt the worst pain I have ever felt in my life.

Asuka would've dropped the title to me, and she would've gone on to the main roster on Monday, but I highly doubt that was happening.

There were two doctors in front of me, but they were talking to each other, so I had tuned them out, instead focusing on the thoughts in my head and the pain in my knee.  When I heard my name, I looked at them.

"Shavannah, while we won't know anything for sure until we get you x-rayed tomorrow, you probably won't be able to wrestle at Takeover," One of the doctors said, while the other one left the room.

"How long do you think I'll be out?" I asked, hoping it would just be a few weeks.

"I don't know for sure," He replied. "Anywhere from a month, to a few.  It all depends on how bad the injury is."

I sighed.  We talked a bit more, then he left the room to go find Matt Bloom.  I watched as the door slowly shut behind him, but I was surprised when a hand stopped it from closing.

The door opened, and Tye Dillinger walked into the room.  I sighed again, and he spoke up.

"How is everything?"

"Horrible."

"Care to elaborate?" He asked.

I just shrugged. "My knee hurts.  That's really it.  The doctor said he won't know what exactly is wrong until they x-ray it tomorrow."

"And Takeover...?"

"Yeah, I probably won't be wrestling there," I told him. "Life sucks."

"Hey, life doesn't suck."

"It does at this very moment."

He didn't say anything after that.  I looked up at him.  It looked like he was thinking, but before either of us could say something, Matt walked into the room.

***

No Mercy had a similar thing happen, where one person in the women's title match (Becky Lynch) was injured, and wasn't able to compete.  Alexa Bliss, the challenger, ended up facing Naomi in a last minute decision.

Matt said they would probably do the same, though he'd have to run it by Hunter first.  He was thinking that Asuka would face Billie Kay or Peyton Royce, and I'd get my title shot whenever my knee healed.

I was given crutches by a returning doctor, and after telling me everything I needed to know (when my appointment was, where it would be), I was free to go.

Tye held the door open for me, and we both left the room.

"So, you could go get your things, and we can go," He told me.

I looked over at him. "What, are you my babysitter now?"

"Hey, you probably need some help getting your bags to your car," He replied. "Your hands seem pretty busy with your crutches."

I thought about his explanation, then I said, "I probably shouldn't be driving with a bad knee."

Without missing a beat, he said, "I can drive, too, if you want."

I smiled. "I'd appreciate it."

We grabbed my things, and we headed outside.  Tye still had a match later that night, so he was in his gear, and we'd have to come back inside.

There were fans in the parking lot, presumably waiting for some of us to come outside.

"Shavannah!"

"Are you okay?"

"What happened?"

I looked over at them.  It was only a handful of people, so I decided to stop and talk.  Tye kept walking, as he wanted to put my bags in my car.

"We'll see tomorrow if I'm okay," I told them. "I hurt my knee pretty bad tonight."

"Will you be at Takeover?"

I frowned. "We'll just have to see."

A little girl in a purple Bayley shirt smiled up at me. "I hope you get better."

"I hope you're the one to beat Asuka," Someone else said.

"We can only hope for the best, right?" I asked, smiling a little.

Tye had come back at some point, and a few people were talking to him now.  He glanced over at me every so often.  The little girl walked up to me.

"I hope you get to fight Bayley one day," She said.

I smiled. "I'd like that, too."

"I hope you beat Asuka, and you win the championship, and then you fight Bayley."

I laughed. "You never know what will happen in NXT."

The little girl grinned, then ran back to her mom.  A few seconds later, I could hear Tye saying, "All right, I've got to go.  It was nice meeting all of you."

We began walking back into the arena.  We stopped just outside of Gorilla.  His match was in a few minutes.  I found somewhere to sit, and set my crutches down.

"Life does not suck."

I looked over at him, confused. "What?"

"Earlier, you said that life sucked," He said. "It doesn't."

"Maybe not for you."

"Yeah, life doesn't suck for me," He said. "And maybe it does suck for you.  But it doesn't suck for that little girl out there, wearing the Bayley shirt, because you just made her whole life by talking to her.  It was cold out there, and you're on crutches and in pain, yet you still talked to her.  She's never going to forget that.  And just life you said to her: you never know what will happen in NXT.  She probably came to the show to see her favorite wrestlers in the ring; she probably didn't expect you to talk to her, to have a conversation with her.

I know that you love wrestling; we all do.  But I also know that you love your fans.  That girl was your fan.  However long you're gone, whether it's just a week, or it's a whole year, people are going to miss you.  You are going to wish you were in that ring, but you'll also have the love and support of all your fans.  It will make you work even harder to get back in the ring.  And that crowd will be louder than ever when you come back.  Yeah, you might think your life sucks, but it doesn't.  It is full of love."

I was speechless, and the only thing I could really say was, "Oh."

"2016 has been the year of Tye Dillinger," He told me.  His opponent's music began playing. "The fans have shown me love, and I have loved them right back.  I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for them.  2017 is going to be the year of Shavannah Gunn.  You just need to show some love."

His music played, and he walked away.

---

"You can have the light of the world blind you, bathe you in grace, but I don't see so easily what you hold in your hands.  'Cause castles crumble, kingdoms fall and turn into sand."