After a more than perfect date, I stood with my arms wrapped around Dean while his arms were wrapped around my waist. The smell of his cologne still lingered in the air and it always made me smile. I’d been dating Dean for ten months and every single day with him has made me feel so alive and happy, yet there was still an underlying problem we could never escape having to talk about. The sun had set, signifying the end of our date but we were reluctant to let go of each other out of fear of not knowing when we’d see each other again.

“When will we see each other next?” I asked the dreaded question, feeling my hands get clammy as I got nervous. I really hope it’s not too long away.

“I don’t know, Nina.” Dean began, looking upset. “We’ve got a lot of training coming up and I don’t think I’ll be able to make such a huge journey.” The ‘huge journey’ he was referring to was something we had to do so we were never seen together; Him and his friends/colleagues Roman and Seth had a feud with my dad and uncle – The Undertaker and Kane as they are better known to most people. This feud had gone on forever, before me and Dean ever got together and even he wasn’t sure about me as soon as he heard who my family were but luckily he put that to the side and got to know me. We both knew that if anyone found out about our relationship, all hell would break loose. For the past ten months we have snuck out, made excuses and cancelled meetings just to see each other but he means to world to me and I’d do it for the rest of my life if I had to!

“That’s fine, I’ll come to you!” I said with my best puppy dog eyes. He sighed and let out a smile.

“Only if you’re sure…” He said, giving in. I nodded quickly. “I’ll text you the address tonight, alright? We’re out there for a week and then there’s the show.”

“I’ve always wanted to see you guys live! You train so hard and I never get to see it.” I said sadly, but then my eyes lit up. “My dad isn’t wrestling in the next show!” I said with a huge grin on my face. “Which means my family won’t be there so I can go and see you!” I awaited Dean’s excited expression but instead he just continued to stare blankly at me.

“It’s too risky.” Dean said with reluctance in his voice. I could tell he really liked the idea, but the shows were in the public eye so much it’d be difficult to have a moment to ourselves, especially with The Shield being together that day.

“Too risky?” I repeated. “I just said my whole family won’t be there! My dad told me he’s off for a few weeks while he has physio on his shoulder.” Dean sighed heavily, obviously still thinking this was a bad idea. “At the end of the day I’m just going to watch wrestling, no one can tell me I’m doing wrong!”

“But you’re not just watching the wrestling. After it all, we’re going to want to see each other and the rest of my team will be there…” Dean’s eyes showed dread as he imagined what the outcome of it could be. I, however, wasn’t giving up.

“So what if your friends see us? They can’t hate me just because you guys don’t like my dad and uncle! That’s stupid. I don’t hate them!” I was on a roll and I knew Dean would eventually give in and just accept I was going, I could already see a smile beginning to appear on his face.

“You’re not going to give up on this are you?” I shook my head and he laughed. “Alright, fine. If it all goes wrong I have permission to blame you!” He said jokingly. A smile grew on my face and my eyes lit up. I was finally going to watch my boyfriend wrestle!

***

After a very long conversation with the security guards and ticket people, I’d managed to get into the Arena. I hardly ever use who I am as a way into things, but there was no way I’d get tickets for this show one week beforehand. I’m just happy it worked! I sat in my seat in the ‘family and friends’ section and smiled happily. This was it!

“Hi!” A lady sat down next to me and smiled.

“Hello. How are you?” I replied kindly. In all honesty, I recognised her vaguely but although I had no idea who she really was, she was beautiful. She had dark hair and used makeup emphasise her big eyes and cheekbones.

“I’m good thank you, you?” I racked my brains to think where I’d seen her before. The more I looked at her, the more I feel like I’d seen her face before.

“Great yeah! So who are you here to see?” I asked quickly. I thought it was the best way to find out who she was the family or friend of. She hesitated for a second, her blue eyes staring into mine.

“I’m here to see my boyfriend, Seth. My name is Leighla.” It was only then I remembered Dean showing me a picture of her on his phone, explaining who Seth was dating after they all went out for a meal and I was curious. She let out a smile as she waited for me to tell her who I was.

“My name is Nina. I’m The Undertakers daughter. It’s nice to meet you.” I offered a smile but I noticed her face had dropped. She’d obviously heard about the feud between my family and The Shield. “I’m not like them though. I have nothing against The Shield.” I added in quickly. She looked a little taken aback from my comments but she composed herself to continue the conversation.

“Its fine, it’s nothing to do with me. I’ve heard the stories about them and The Undertaker and Kane… They didn’t sound good. I just assumed his whole family hated The Shield.” She looked slightly more tense than she did when she’d sat down.

“I’m actually here to watch them.” I said quickly, not really thinking. “I want to see what my dad and uncle are so frightened of. I think they’re really talented.” I could see a smile build on her face.

“Well, after the show I’ll introduce you if you want?” She felt a little more at ease again and I nodded happily. This was my chance to watch them and then meet the others and make a good impression. I saw her flicking through the programme of the show.

“Do you mind?” I pointed to the programme and she handed it to me.

“It’s a shame about Daniel and his injury…” She stated, pointing at an apology note in the programme explaining Daniel Bryan had to go in for surgery. “I’m excited to see Kane wrestle though! You’ve come to watch him too I assume.” She exclaimed excitedly. My heart sunk and my stomach dropped. My Uncle is wrestling? My family must be here then… I looked back towards the entrance I’d walked in from and surely enough there were my mum and dad. I sunk into the chair a little and prayed they didn’t see me.

The lights dimmed and the commentator began introducing the first fight; Kane vs Bray Wyatt. The atmosphere inside this arena was intense, I couldn’t believe the amount of emotion people had for this sport and how involved they got in each fight. It felt like time was on fast forward and before I know it, it was the final match; The Shield vs The Evolution. I’d never been so blown away with people’s talent. Roman was the muscle of the team, all his moves so heavy and powerful that no one ever got up from one quickly. Seth was the architect, he made up moves I’d never seen before and was happy to fly anywhere the opponents were. Then there was Dean. His microphone skills shocked me and his wrestling was just as good. He acted slightly crazed, his fringe covering his head as he threw punches in quick succession furiously. The match was ended with Roman pinning Batista and as the three count was called and everyone cheered Leighla gestured for me to follow her. I put the hood of my jacket up and followed her out of the Arena and into the backstage area in the hope my parents hadn’t seen me. Within a minute or so, The Shield walked around the corner with grins on their faces muttering about what they did in the match.

“Hey babe!” Leighla hugged Seth and then hugged Roman and Dean. “This is Nina, she was sat next to me today. She said she came to see how you guys wrestled so I thought she could meet you guys.” I could see Dean staring at me out of the corner of my eye, but I tried to act like I didn’t know him.

“You guys were amazing! I never realised how great you were live too!” I shook each one of their hands and smiled. The butterflies in my stomach were dancing about and my chest felt tight; 2 feet away from me was my boyfriend yet no one apart from us knew we were a couple. I glanced over to him once with a smile before looking back to the others.

“So who were you here to see?” Roman asked, obviously holding on to the fact Leighla had said I was sat in the family bit. I hesitated and bit my lips together. I couldn’t lie because I’d already told Leighla the truth but I didn’t want them to know I was my father’s daughter.

“She came here to see me.” Dean said quickly. I sucked in a sharp breath and glared at him. Was this going to be how he told everyone? Everyone looked between me and him confusedly. Dean looked at me apologetically but I knew it was better to get it out in the open than have them know my background. “This is my girlfriend guys.” Roman and Seth’s faces dropped in awe and shock while Leighla just grinned.

“How long?” Seth asked Dean, looking at him in wonder of how we’d kept it such a secret.

“Ten months.” Dean said proudly. We continued to chat for a bit before Roman suggested they leave us to have a bit of ‘couple time’. We walked further into the backstage area before we started talking.

“Thanks for saving me from that awkward moment. They accepted me being your girlfriend a lot better!” I gave him a hug but stayed in his arms.

“I wanted them to know eventually, I’m glad they accepted it.” Dean said lovingly before kissing me.

“Nina!” I heard from behind me in the booming voice that could only belong to one person – my dad. I stopped kissing Dean and immediately spun around. The anger in his eyes terrified me. “What the hell are you doing with my daughter? Get away from her!” My dad shouted at Dean, storming towards us. I ran forwards and stopped him.

“Dad!” I said angrily. “What is your problem? You’re attracting unwanted attention!” As I looked around, we had a crowd gathering – Dean’s teammates included.

“You shouldn’t be anywhere near that guy. He’s a waste of space! They all are!” My dad shot daggers at Dean, who was still standing in the same place, ready to stand his ground if he had to.

“I want to be near that guy, Dad. He’s my boyfriend!” I shouted without thinking, slapping my hand over my mouth quickly. Well, there were better ways I could have delivered that news! My dad’s face dropped and he looked over to Dean with a scowl on his face.

“No. Not anymore he’s not!” My dad grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me away. I noticed my Uncle in the crowd too as I was pulled past him. My body felt weak, my life felt like it was all crashing down around me. Within seconds, it had all gone wrong.

“Where are you going with her?” Dean ran towards us and grabbed my other arm. “You can’t just walk off with her, she’s old enough to make her own decisions! She’s not your five year old girl anymore!” My dad let go of my arm and walked up to Dean, shoving him hard. He staggered backwards into Seth and Roman who had obviously gone to support Dean. Kane quickly stood beside my dad to show he had allies too and I rolled me eyes and sighed.

“This is ridiculous! Get over it guys! I love Dean whether you like it or not.” I said looking at Seth and Roman, then my dad and uncle. “I’ve been with him for ten months and I don’t care what you think, I’m happy.”

“No. You’re not going anywhere near him anymore. I’m not having you waste your life and potential by being with someone like him!” Again my dad grabbed my arm and pulled me away. My uncle stood in the way of The Shield so they couldn’t run after me. Tears streamed down my face as I saw Dean’s face get further and further into the distance when there was nothing I could do to stop it.

“Enough!” I screamed at my dad, pulling my arm from his grip. “If you want to be like this, I’m not living with you guys. I thought you’d want me to be happy!”

“I want you to be happy, but why couldn’t you have picked someone better than him?” My dad said, not aware of how his words could affect me.

“I don’t think there is anyone better! What is your problem with them anyway? We’re happy with each other and it’s not your decision who I fall in love with!” I could feel the lump in my throat getting bigger as I did my best not to break down.

“Nina, please!” My dad exclaimed frustratedly. “You know exactly what the story behind it is. What part of your brain would think this was a good idea?”

“It’s not my feud, is it? It’s yours and your brothers! Don’t try and bring me into it!” I shouted. “This is the reason I kept it from you!” I could hear footsteps behind me but I didn’t turn round.

“Please, let me explain.” Dean’s voice filled my ears and instantly I lifted my head and saw him standing by my dad. “Look, I know we’re not the best of friends – hell you could probably go as far as saying you hate us – but please don’t let your views on us cloud your daughter’s life. She’s a lovely girl; kind and loving and beautiful! She’s helped me through a lot and I couldn’t have done it without her. Please. I’ve treated her like a princess and I’ll continue to do so. There aren’t many girls like her around anymore, ones with much a kind and caring heart and I want to be proud to say I have her by my side.” My dad was never one for soppy stories or people begging but I could see his anger soften as he listened to Dean. He looked down at me and I smiled, mouthing ‘please dad?’ with the best puppy dog eyes I could pull off.

“Listen here, Dean…” My dad said in a threatening tone. “I’m giving you one chance to prove yourself. If you mess it up there’s no more chances, I’ll kick you out of this family and out of my daughter’s life faster than you can say ‘I’m sorry’. You got that?” Dean’s face lit up and he nodded quickly.

“Of course. You won’t regret it.” Dean turned round and hugged me tightly. “I love you.” He whispered.

“I love you too.”