Authors Note: I don't own Punk, sadly :P However, I do own Wynter.

Straightedge Promise

Part I

A thud rang out through the place that CM Punk called home. It startled him from his half sleep on the couch, TV washing lights over him, empty Pepsi can on the floor beside him. He sat up slightly and rubbed his neck, frowning when he heard the giggles coming from his front door. Slowly, he stood up and made his way towards it, frowning even more deeply when he opened it and saw her collapsed on the doormat, giggling.

"Punkie!" She exclaimed when she saw him, giggling even harder, and disappointment flashed in his eyes. Her name was Wynter and she was his best friend, or at least, he had thought she was. A few years back, she'd had a serious drinking problem and whenever he was home (and probably when he wasn't home as well) she turned up on his doorstep, completely drunk, giggling and silly and expecting him to take care of her. Then one day he told her that if she ever turned up there drunk again he wasn't going to let her in and he was going to cut her out of his life. He hated to give her an ultimatum, but she needed to make a choice, the alcohol or him. She chose him, or at least, he had thought she did. She'd committed herself to a straight edge lifestyle, and hadn't turned up drunk on his doorstep again, though she'd had a few slips along the way, he thought she'd left that part of her life behind.

Until tonight. Or this morning, whatever it was. Nonetheless, despite the disappointment he felt, looking down at her drunk, giggling form he couldn't bring himself to turn her away now.

"Honestly Wynter…" He muttered, bending down to scoop her up into his arms. At least she was light, otherwise he might have dropped her squirming form. She was giggling like he was tickling her. He carried her into the house, suddenly feeling more tired than he had been before he opened the door, taking her to a spare room and laying her down on the bed, tucking the blankets in around her. She kept giggling and he shook his head a little bit "Sleep, Wynter."

He felt a little relieved when she nodded and obediently shut her eyes- she didn't like to argue with him. It was now he noticed her tussled hair, and a smear of blood that was right on her hairline. He pulled back the covers a little to look at her, and couldn't find any cuts on her. She lay still, even though he doubted she was asleep yet, and he noticed both her shirt and her skirt were torn, though she didn't seem to have any scratches by them. He sighed and left it for now, pulling the blankets back up over her form and stood up. He left the room, going back to the couch and glancing wearily at the TV, hoping to get her off his mind.

He fell asleep without really realising it, and came too the next morning with a groan, noting her standing in front of him in tears.

"Wynter?" He asked, sitting up awkwardly and blinking a little to clear his vision. She walked over to him quickly and collapsed beside him on the lounge, wrapping her arms around one of his. "Wynter, what the hell is going on?"

She stifled a sob, sniffing a little before she looks up at him… "I know… I know you probably think I got drunk again last night… but I didn't…"

"Oh, so what was that then?" He asked her, raising a brow and tilting his head, though he didn't pry her from his arm.

"Drugs…" She whispered, tears filling her eyes. Anger quickly filled his, but she jumped in again before he could get angry "I didn't take them by choice! My Pepsi got spiked… I went to dance with the girls, and I ordered a Pepsi from the bar… I guess when I wasn't looking… Punk you have to believe me!"

He just stared at her for a moment, face still hard, though he didn't look angry anymore, he was just trying to decide if she was telling him the truth.

"Phil, please!" She was getting desperate- she almost never used his real name. He pulled his arm away from her and stood up, walking around for a moment and rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry Wynter… it's just… I thought I was never gonna find you on my doorstep like that again…"

"You don't believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe you… it's just… it's hard to deal with after everything that's happened…"

She stood up from the lounge, and he noticed for the first time that she was shivering. After a moment she wiped the tears from her cheek, even though more just took their place. "Could you please take me to the hospital Phil?"

He winced this time at the use of his name. It wasn't like her desperate plea moments earlier. That had been more of a personal thing, her trying to get through to him, the way she said his name just then was hollow, almost affectionless. He really had hurt her.

He nodded a little bit, "Yeah… of course…" He wanted to ask more, but he didn't think it was the right time.

"Can you bring some clothes of yours for me to change into afterwards please?"

He nodded a little bit and went to get something for her, feeling a little bit numb by her sudden request. Nonetheless he put the things in a bag for her and found her standing in the same place in the living room. He walked over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders- she was shivering still underneath his touch. "Come on…" He said softly, leading her out of the room, and the house, over to his car.

The drive to the hospital was a silent one, and when they arrived she went straight up to the nurse, leaving him to wait in an uncomfortable plastic seat. He watched curiously as the nurse wrapped a consoling arm around Wynter and led her through to a room. A couple of other female doctors and nurses went in there, and the first one came out to the desk again, picking up the phone with a frown on her face and making some kind of call. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he just waited for her. Eventually everyone left the room that Wynter was in, and he walked over to the doctor, watching the nurse walk away with some kind of trolley.

"Excuse me, doctor… Uhm… can I see Wynter yet?"

The doctor looked him up and down a moment, and the nurse said he was the one who had brought the young lady in. The doctor shook her head a little before speaking "She asked to be alone, and I believe she wanted to shower." He nodded a little but held up the bag in his hand.

"She'll uh… probably want these. She asked me to grab some clothes for her."

"Right. The nurse will take those in and let you know when you can see her."

Punk nodded at her, handing the bag over to the nurse who took the bag into the room. Again he went to sit in an uncomfortable plastic chair, wondering what was going on.

A little while later the police arrived, and he sat up straighter in his seat as the male officer was pointed in his direction, the female taken into the room Wynter was in. He frowned at the officer as he joined him.

"Officer… what's going on?"

The man looked momentarily confused, "You don't know what's going on?"

"Wynter hasn't really told me anything… I… I mean… she just told me her drink was spiked and then asked me to bring her here…" He left out everything else, the man didn't need to hear their personal history.

The officer nodded and patted the young man's shoulder. "Well son, I don't think it's really my place to tell you what happened."

Confusion flickered over Punk's face and he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah… I understand that…" He said, and the cop gave him a somewhat weary smile.

Eventually the female officer walked out of the room and over to them, glancing at Punk and her partner before her gaze flitted back to Punk. "She's ready to see you now."

He stood up, relieved, glancing between the two cops. "Whatever this is about… take good care of her…"

"We plan to." The woman assured him, and again the man clapped him on the shoulder. He left them to talk, walking quickly to the room Wynter was in, taking a deep breath before turning the door handle and walking in.

She was in a shirt of his and a pair of shorts. She looked thinner than usual since his clothes were somewhat baggy, and she looked like she hadn't stopped crying since he'd left her. He walked over to her quickly, and he felt like his heart was breaking as another tear slipped down her cheek. He sat down beside her, taking her hand and looking into her eyes, frowning.

"Wynter, what happened? Please tell me…"

"You don't believe me…" She whimpered softly, and his frown only deepened again.

"Of course I believe you Wynter… I'm sorry it didn't seem like it earlier." He leant in to hug her, and noticed her flinch before she relaxed into his arms. He waited patiently for her to speak, to tell him what had happened…

"Phil…" He didn't wince this time, his name had affection in it again, "Phil… I was raped…"

It felt like his stomach dropped out, and he felt terrible for even considering that she could have lied. She would never lie about this. His grip slackened, but only momentarily, and then he was hugging her to him tighter than ever.

"Wynter… I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…" He whispered to her, kissing the top of her head, and fighting back the tears that the sobs she was eliciting made him want to shed. He just held her close and stroked her hair. "Everything's gonna be okay now… I'm gonna take care of you… okay?"

He felt her nod against his chest, her grip almost as tight as his, as if he was her lifeline, and he realised that he quite possibly was. "Please don't let me go…" He made out her whisper into his shirt.

"I won't…" He promised her, though he shifted a little bit, so he was sitting behind her, relaxing back a little so she could rest and fall asleep if need be. Recovering from this was not gonna be easy, but he would help her out.

Authors Note: Okay, so this is the end. I'm thinking you guys are gonna want more of this though, so tell me in the reviews if you would like this to be a two shot :) (And if you want more of They Understand there's a poll on my profile :) )

Anyways, it was my first day back at school today, and I guess it wasn't completely horrible. I figured I'd relax by writing, since I do owe you something. I will be attempting to get the next chapter of I'm Still Me out tomorrow, but if I don't, bear with me, I should have it out by the weekend at least. I'll try and keep updates coming as regularly as I can.

Much love to you guys, so read and review, and remember, let me know if you want this to be a two shot :) I'm happy to give Punk some love.