Present Time

Sophia threw her head back in fits of laughter at something Renee had said, Corey Graves laughing with her. He was the person who knew her best, other than Baron. They met through her brother years ago and he was one of the few men she could talk to without him ripping her head off about it later. "Uh-oh, here comes the party pooper." Corey grinned, she leaned back in her seat, head tilted back uncomfortably and saw Corbin's tall frame stalking his way over to them.

"Come on." He said plainly, a nod to Corey but completely ignoring the bubbly blonde. He started to walk away and she found herself standing up to his demand and following after him.

"Ya' know you're supposed to be the lone wolf right? Not the come over and steal my friend whenever you please wolf!" Renee shouted at the back of the siblings, Sophia turned around, still walking, mouthing 'sorry'. She rarely got time away from Corbin, the only time he wasn't glued to her hip was when he was out in the ring and she cherished what little time she could get away.

She sped up, her long legs taking large strides to catch up to him. "How did your match go?" She asked, linking her arm through his and holding it close.

He didn't even bother looking down at her. "You'd know if you watched." She frowned, he was in a bad mood. Just what she needed right now.

"Contrary to popular belief, my whole world doesn't revolve around you." She sung with a smile, her free hand reaching up to poke him in his cheek. He jerked to a halt, yanking his arm away from her.

"It used to." He said coldly, remembering that ten year old little girl that wouldn't leave him alone. That begged to stay with him forever.

Her arms folded across her chest, both of their eyes locked on each other. "I'm not a little girl anymore, Baron. Things change." That anger flared in his eyes and she quickly dropped her gaze to floor. They could argue in private but at work she was forced to do whatever it took to keep his anger at bay. Knowing if anyone had seen him put his hands on her all hell would break loose. "I'm sorry. I'll watch next time, I swear. What happened?"

"I lost." His fingers entwined with hers before he started to storm off again as she tried to keep up.

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Renee watched them walk away with disgust written on her face, she didn't like Baron; he gave her the heebie jeebies. "I will never understand why she obeys his every command." She said slouching down in her seat, arms folded across her chest. Corey followed her gaze and chuckled lightly.

"I'll be the first to admit they have an unconventional relationship but they're family. Family sticks together no matter what." He watched the two of them hand in hand head toward Baron's locker room, he knew if Baron wanted to be with her instead of him after his match that could only mean one thing; he lost. 

He turned back to the pouting blonde, "They aren't even family anymore. Their parents have been divorced for years. He acts like he is a God and the only thing she is capable of doing is worshipping him. As her friend how does that not drive you bananas?!"

"Because, I'm friends with both of them so I'm not biased."

She cut in before he could finish his thought. "I am not biased. Everyone thinks there's something weird going on between them, not just me." Her brown eyes dared him to challenge her, it was so unlike her to not only gossip but to be in a sour mood. 

He shook his head, picking up the bottle of water in front of him. "Everyone only sees them at their worst. You don't get to see them at home by their pool wrestling each other as they laugh trying to knock the other in, you don't get to see them play videogames together playfully talking trash. I've never seen anyone make Baron smile the way she does. So maybe to you it appears that he doesn't care about her but I guarantee you no one will love you the way Baron loves her." She gasped and he realized how what he said came off, even though he didn't mean it like that.

"It's strange that they live together and for your information; Dean doesn't need to follow my every move to show how much he loves me. Just because you have a little crush on her doesn't mean I'm not worth just as much love as she is." She snapped, standing up straight. His cheeks flushed everyone could see clear as day he had a thing for Sophia but it had never been said aloud before.

He caught her wrist in his hand, "Renee, you know I didn't mean it like that." She pulled her arm from him, fuming with anger. "Just sit down and let me explain it better." Her hard gaze stayed focused on him as she thought about it, after what felt like forever she sank back into her seat.

"Fine."

He sighed, slicking his hair back. "This has nothing to do with Soph, but with Baron. No one loves the way he does. Not me, not you, not Dean. It's unnatural and for good reason; it's unhealthy." Her hard eyes softened, her arms falling to her side as she considered his words. "He loves one person in this world, literally just one. Her. I'm not taking away from how Dean feels about you, but he also loves his mom, sister, Roman and Seth. He has to divide his time up to love all of you equally but Baron doesn't have that, all of his love is directed to just one person. All of his time, all of his being, everything he does is for her."

She nodded, finally understanding what he meant. "You're his best friend. Doesn't that mean he loves you?"

Corey threw his head back in laughter, holding his side. "No, no. He doesn't love me, he tolerates me. For her." She furrowed her brow, confused. "He knows he's a lot to handle, he tolerates me so that he has somewhere to go when she needs her space. I told you, everything he does leads back to her in some crazy way he's already rationalized it in his head."

The blonde ruffled her hair, "That's either really creepy or really sweet. I'm leaning towards creepy."

"Everyone's so quick to blame him but I've seen them argue, I've seen him storm off and every single time without fail she chases after him. If she just asked for more freedom, he'd give it to her. She doesn't want it, Nee." He sighed, he hated to admit it but he knew it was true and until the day came that Sophia saw it for herself, he'd have to love her from afar.

"Their relationship is so morbid." She said with disgust, Corey shrugged taking a swig of his water. "I think we should sit her down an-" He nearly choked on his drink, wagging his finger at her.

"No, no, no, don't you dare try to drag me into some little scheme cooking up in that pretty blonde head of yours. You're on your own with this one."

Her lips smacked, "Don't you wanna be with her?" Corey's blue eyes dropped to his hands, his index finger tracing the tattooed D on his knuckle. "It's not gonna happen unless we can get her to see there is more to life than just Baron." She flashed her best smile at him, "Come on, please!" She begged.

His head shook suddenly, it was too risky. "No, she's not ready."

"So what? That's why we push her until she is."

"No, she will pick him over anyone right now. So if you want to stay her friend I suggest you mind your own business." She sat there shocked as she watched him storm off.  

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They sat in silence as he breathed heavily, she stared at him with concern. The room was absolutely destroyed, wooden lockers kicked in, holes the size of his fists in the walls, his own personal belongs scattered about. His episode was finally over, she'd learned at a young age to let them play out and comfort him once he was done.

Slowly she climbed to her feet, she wasn't afraid, she just didn't want to startle him and it lead to another outburst. He was sitting on the only wooden bench that had actually survived his rampage, his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. His chest still rising and falling rapidly. "Shhhh, it's okay..." Sophia cooed, her hand rubbing circles against his shirted shoulder.

His arms wrapped around her waist, yanking her forward. He buried his face in her abdomen as he began to cry into her shirt, she rubbed his back holding him tight. "I know, it's okay."

"It's not okay!" He howled, shoving her away from him. She stumbled back and fell flat on her ass, "I'm just like him. You should just go away and never come back." His face was a red mess, tears stained his cheeks. Her head shook as hot tears burned in her own eyes, she climbed to her knees and inched towards him.

"I'm not going anywhere." She crouched down lower to meet the gaze of his hanging head, her hands rested on his knees. "I love you, remember?" She gave a weak smile as a few tears escaped her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. 

His bloodshot eyes snapped shut, not able to look into her crying face. He did this, he always does this. "Don't." He croaked out, pushing her hands off of him. "Everyone who loved him, lived to regret it or didn't live at all. I can't do that to you." He cringed when he felt her warm hands on his cheeks, her thumbs wiping away his tears.

"You are not like your dad, Bar." She cried pulling his forehead against hers, willing him to open his eyes and look at her but he didn't. "He never felt remorse, he never tried to push someone away to protect them. There is way more good than darkness in you and I will never let you forget that." 

His head shook against her hands, he would never believe those words, if there was more good than bad, the darkness wouldn't win every time. "Just go..." He whispered, her arms snaked around his neck getting lost in his long brown hair. He was still drenched in sweat but she didn't care. He leaned back, knowing where this was going his heart pounding against his chest, she climbed onto his lap and just held him.

His long tattooed arms enfolded her as she sat there with her eyes closed just breathing him in. "I will always love you..." She whispered, he squeezed her tighter praying that she was right.

The clearing of a throat caused his eyes to snap up, the annoying blonde who followed Sophia almost as much as he did was standing there and a vibrating growl deep in his chest escaped getting Sophia's attention. "Wow, what happened in here?" Renee asked, shifting her weight uncomfortably as her judgemental eyes moved between the two siblings. Not liking how close they were too each other. 

"Couldn't find my keys." He said dryly, his eyes narrowing at her. Sophia pulls back but doesn't move giving him her "Be nice" face before smiling at Renee.

"Sore loser is all." She corrected him, his eyes rolled and before she knew what was coming she felt his hands untangle her arms. He stood up abruptly and she crashed down to the floor uncomfortably. "Ass!" She hollered at his back as he headed toward the shower.

Renee was at her side instantly, helping her back to her feet. "Are you okay?" When Soph nodded, she let out a sigh. "Can we talk for a sec? Like in private." Her brown eyes drifting back to where Baron had just left.

"Sure."

She followed her out into the hallway, "Are you okay?" The blonde asked again, concern written on her face as she looked over her friend from head to toe for any sign of injury.

"I'm fine, Renee." She laughed, "It was like a two foot drop, not a big deal."

"Still," She paused, her eyes searching down both ends of the hallway before speaking again. "He shouldn't do things like that, Soph."

"He's my brother. Brothers tease their little sisters all the time. You have a brother, you should know that."

Her lips smacked with annoyance, "Yes brothers tease, but that's not teasing. Baron is abusive! How do you not see that? I love you and I'm so tired of just sitting back and watching you take it." Sophia's brows drew together, her lips pursing, Baron was abusive more so than Renee would ever know but her insides boiled at her judgement over him simply pushing her out of his lap.

"I told you, it's not a big deal. He didn't pick me up and sit me gently on the ground like a loving big brother, so what? Not every family shows love the same way-"

Renee cut in before she could go on, "That's just it, I've never met siblings that touch as much as you two. My brother would never knock me off his lap because I would never be on his lap!"    

Sophia took a step back feeling as though the wind had been knocked out of her, Baron and her were closer than most siblings but he was all she had when she was younger. Just the thought of someone saying that it was wrong weighed heavily on her. "W- what are you trying to say?" 

Her eyes softened as she tried to think of a way to say it without upsetting her. "The way you treat each other isn't normal... It makes everyone around you uncomfortable. I think you should distance yourself from him, it's not like he's really your brother anyways." Renee rested her perfectly manicured hand on her shoulder, supportively.

She shrugged off her touch, "You have some nerve!" Renee's eyes widened, not expecting the outburst. "Just because we don't share genetics, I'm suppose to toss him to the side? What would make him my real brother? Huh? Taking the blame when I accidently broke the TV so he got the beating instead of me? No? Okay, what about letting me crawl in bed with him when our parents were fighting and singing to me until I wasn't afraid anymore? Not everyone had a perfect childhood like you Renee!" Tears were beading in her eyes as the memories she tried to keep away were flooding back. "Baron would die for me and I would die for him. If that's not family, then I don't want family. I just want him."

Renee's heart tugged in her chest, she'd never heard anything about their childhood and to be honest she never thought Baron was capable of kindness. Her head hung low with shame, all she wanted to do was help. "I'm sorry...." She whispered, Sophia scoffed as she turned on her heels but before she could get far she stopped her. "Wait, just one more thing. Please."

She paused, not bothering to turn around. She couldn't stand to even look at her face right now. "I swear, I only brought this up because I wanted you to see there is not only a life without Baron but there is happiness. God, he's gonna hate me when he finds out but Corey has a thing for you and he wants to be with you but he's terrified if he tells you, Baron will flip out and you'll pick him over a chance at love. I thought he was ridiculous but it looks like he was right. Baron comes before everyone, even yourself." Sophia swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, willing herself to move forward, trying to pretend the news didn't send her mind spiraling. 

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"We need to talk." He spun around to her voice a smile plastered on his face. Seth Rollins standing in front of him with a cheeky smirk as he eyed the two of them. "Now, Graves." Sophia demanded, her arms folded across her chest before she took a few steps away from him, expecting him to follow.

He looked between her and his friend as he tried to decide what to do, Seth shrugged when he gave him an apologetic look. He chased after her like deep down he knew he would. He wasn't capable of saying no to her. "What the hell, Sophia, I was in the middle of a conversa-" 

"Do you like me?" His eyes went wide and her heart started pounding, she thought Renee was lying, simply trying to find any reason to justify her shitty actions but the absolute terror on his face said maybe she wasn't. "Renee said you did but that you were afraid of what Baron would say."

He licked his lips, his metallic depths avoiding her face. "I'm not afraid of Baron. I just know you well enough to know if he says no, you listen." Something deep inside her clenched tightly, the blood rushing through her veins, she couldn't form words. Why had she never thought of Corey in that way before? Her eyes ran over his sculpted face, silky dark hair that was shaved on the sides but perfectly styled on the top, making his bright eyes stand out, his chiseled chin with a thin layer of scruff, he was wearing a white V neck shirt and dark blue jeans. He was literally the definition of perfection and yet she'd never noticed until just now.

His eyes diverted back to her when she didn't say anything, he nibbled on his bottom lip nervously. "I'm gonna kill her..." He uttered under his breath, cursing Renee for putting him in this awkward situation. "I was gonna wait and tell you when you were ready." He pushed out more confidently, jamming his hands into his pockets.

Sophia had never seen Corey like this, he was the most confident, borderline arrogant guy she'd ever met and she knew Dolph Ziggler so that was saying a lot. He was someone she could be herself around, someone she opened up to briefly about her childhood, someone Baron could stand to be around, someone she didn't think she could live without. "Why do you think I'm not ready?" Her voice was small, having a hard time pushing past the lump in her throat.

His head perked up, a little hope in the pit of his soul. "Because Baron's happiness is more important to you than your own." Her gaze dropped to the floor, why did everyone think that? His hand quickly cupped her chin, forcing her to meet his stare. "Hey, I never said that was a bad thing. Unlike everyone else, I admire your loyalty. It's one of the reasons I want to be with you..."

A smile tugged at her lips, "Then be with me." His brows drew together, searching her face for any signs of humor.

"What about Baron?" Just as his name left his mouth, she stood up on the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to his. He didn't miss a beat as he swiftly released her face from his grasp, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and pulling her body against his. Her arms wrapped around his neck tightly. A kiss he'd been waiting patiently for for the last six months and no matter how he imagined it nothing compared to the real thing.        

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YAY! Chapter 1 is done, please tell me what you think!

-How do you think Baron will react to Corey + Sophia? (Sorey?)

-Do you think Sophia should forgive Renee?

-Does Sophia really want to be with Corey or was she worried that turning him down would ruin their friendship?

Just a few things you can answer if you aren't sure what to comment, let me know what you think will happen or what you want to happen either is fine! I always take comments into consideration when writing (:

https://youtu.be/0ORV5jNRwNE