Hello Brooklyn ► Zack Ryder

Chapter Twenty-One

It was 4 AM on Sunday.

Zack had his alarm set, as he liked to wake up early to work out. He quickly shut it off, so he didn't wake Brooke up. Once he was awake and sitting up, though, he noticed Brooke wasn't in her bed. He turned on the bedside lamp, and he realized she was pacing back and forth.

"Brooke?"

She stopped, looking up. She hadn't noticed he'd woken up, and she was surprised.

"Oh," Brooke said, softly. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?"

"No." He shook his head. "Brooke, what are you doing up? It's four in the morning."

"What if I mess up?"

"Mess what up?"

"My match," She replied. "It's the first ever Divas Extreme Rules match, but what if I mess up? What if I ruin it for all the future Divas of the WWE?"

"Brooke – "

"What if I accidentally hurt AJ or Trinity so badly they have to stop the match?" She continued. She'd started pacing again. "What if they take my title away because of it? I'll be the reason the Divas don't get chances like this anymore, and – "

She stopped talking and walking. Zack had gotten up at some point, and he was now standing in front of her, blocking her path.

She ran a hand through her hair. "I'm going to mess everything up."

Zack set his hands on her shoulders, and she visibly relaxed.

"Brooke," He said. "You are not going to mess up. You, AJ, and Trinity have been practicing every chance you get. You guys have this down. Hunter wouldn't have given you this match if he thought you were going to mess it up. When people think of Brooklyn, they're going to think of the revolutionary match you put on tonight. I swear to god, you're not going to mess up."

Brooke buried her face in his chest. "I just don't want to fuck this up."

"I believe in you." He wrapped his arms around her. "AJ and Trin believe in you. Hunter believes in you. The WWE Universe believes in you. The whole roster believes in you. The only person who needs to believe in you is you."

She took a deep breath, then backed up. "Okay. I believe in myself. Everything is going to go fine. I'm not going to fuck anything up."

"Exactly."

"I'm making history tonight," She said, softly. She was so busy worrying about her performance, that she'd completely forgotten how groundbreaking and historic this match was going to be. "I'm putting women's wrestling on the map."

"That's the spirit." Zack smiled at her, and she returned it.

***

"Tonight is the first ever Payback pay-per-view," Brooke said. "It's also the first Divas Extreme Rules match, between me, Trinity, and AJ Lee. I'm both nervous and excited for this match, because I'll be making history, but a lot is riding on this match. I can't mess it up."

The backstage area was buzzing with excitement.

The main event for the night was John Cena vs. Ryback in a Three Stages of Hell match. Everyone was discussing who they thought would win.

Not only that, but there was the Extreme Rules match between Brooklyn, Naomi, and AJ for the Divas Championship. Brooke had been approached multiple times that night, by people she didn't usually talk to, with good luck wishes.