Hard Time

Chapter Thirty: Stick It To The Man

Seth woke up covered in sweat. He could hear the heart monitor beeping at a rapid rate. 

"He's waking up."

"Vitals are alarming."

"Authorizing anesthesia."

Seth felt someone hold him down as vision began to fade.

"Vitals are stabilizing."

* * *

Seth woke up in a more calm matter. His breathing was at a normal rate and he could hear voices coming around him.

"Mr. Rollins. How you feeling?" a doctor asked.

"Fine I guess. What happened?"

Seth sat up holding his head. 

"Mr. Rollins. You had a seizure and fainted. You were found lying on the ground just outside of the bathroom. I believe a girl named Sasha found you and reported it."

"Sasha?"

Seth began to worry. What was she doing here? Why won't his nightmare end?

"Yes. Sasha Pitcher. Part of the cleaning crew. Nice lady."

Seth laid back in relief.

"Back to your seizure Mr. Rollins. By any chance, has this ever happened to you before?"

Seth thought long and hard.

"Yeah. I think so. A year or two ago back when I was still in school. I just finished my diploma exam. I passed out shortly after."

"I see. You must have been stressed yes?"

Seth nodded.

"How were you feeling before you passed out at the bathroom?"

"Stressed."

"Did you have anxiety?"

"Yes."

"Here is something I would like you to keep in mind. It seems like high levels of stress or anxiety will cause your attacks. I advise that whenever you feel like panicking, take a moment to sit and breathe. Tell yourself who you are, where you are at, and what you can do to solve whatever your problem is in the most simplistic way."

"I'll keep it in mind. Thank you."

"Oh, before you leave, your brain activity was off the charts when we hooked you up. Just thought I'd let you know."

* * *

Seth was sitting idly in his bed. He was still trying to accept Bayley's departure. He watched her pack her suit case. He could see it in her eyes that she wanted to cry. Out of all the survivors, one didn't make it. Seth never imagined it'd be Bayley. Maybe Alexa or Enzo. Bayley was too determined to fail so hard. He hated the idea. While Enzo was running his mouth over how good he is, he could see Bayley giving quick glances. Knowing she didn't make it, it was a challenge keeping herself together while surrounded with a bunch of victors. Charlotte came over to comfort Bayley. As she placed another shirt in, Charlotte wrapped her arm around Bayley.

"It's okay. Do you care about the product?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah?"

"Hunter does what it best for business. He wants the best on his show. That's why he put us through this training. To see who could handle the stress of being a WWE Superstar."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you're not ready. Yet. You can always try a different brand like TNA or Ring of Honor."

Bayley nodded and sniffled. Seth couldn't take it anymore. He didn't want to watch Bayley like that no more. He jumped off his bunk and stormed out the door.

"Fuck this shit!"

He slammed the door shut. Seth walked over to the offices where all of the decisions were made. He found the office where the instructor worked. Seth knocked on the door.

"Come in!" his harsh voice ordered. "Oh my god! You?! What?!"

"Uh? You're needed in the lobby."

He sighed and walked out. With him gone, Seth walked up to his computer and started going through the files. He found the list of people who attended camp. At the top were the survivors in alphabetical order. They had the word passed in brackets beside their names. Underneath was the long list of those that didn't make it. Seth scrolled a long way down to eventually find Bayley's name. He erased it and put it up with the other survivors. Seth smirked and left the room.

Just as he walked out of the doorway, two men stopped him.

"What were you doing in there?" the one with long hair asked.

"Nothing on the computer eh?" the other one ensured.

Seth wasn't gonna lie. He didn't care if he was thrown out of the school. He'd be back with Bayley.

"I found it unfair how one of my friends didn't make it even though she worked just as hard but had one slip. Nothing major either."

They looked at each other for a while.

"Alright. We won't say a word. Tell your friend we said hi."

"Who are you?"

"Dean Ambrose. This is Roman Reigns."

"Seth Rollins." 

They shook hands.

"Look, we're heading to the bar tonight, wanna come?" Roman asked.

"I don't drink anymore. I could stop by though. Yeah. I'll be there tonight."

* * *

"Bayley it's okay," Charlotte comforted.

Bayley nodded.

"There is always next year."

"Yeah. I suppose." 

Seth came bursting through the door.

"What the hell?" Becky asked startled.

Bayley watched. He had a big smile on his face.

"I'm probably gonna be in deep shit but...but-"

"But what?" Charlotte asked.

"Bayley, you gotta prove you belong. Make them believe you deserve your spot."

Bayley sniffled and nodded.

"You're going to wrestling school!"

Bayley was shocked. Seth ambushed Bayley with a hug. She slowly hugged back as she finally breathed again. Bayley was smiling from ear to ear. Seth stepped back.

"Seth, what made them change their mind?" Charlotte asked.

"Nothing. I went into the office myself and put your name on the list."

Seth was full of adrenaline. Bayley tackled Seth to the floor with a hug of her own.

"Thank you so much!"

Seth could hear the tears along with the crack in her voice.

"You're welcome. Now if you'd get off of me, I am off to spend some much needed guy time."

Seth walked out of the room. Bayley sat on the floor unable to contain her emotions. It was gonna be a wild ride.