It was CM Punk's first day of high school. He walked down the hallway with his hoodie pulled over his face. Never give eye contact. He had learned long ago that was the key. The key to hiding the desparate attempt at dabbing his mother's leftover concealer over yet another black eye. The key to the fact that his wardrobe just happened to cover as much skin as possible in the warm springtime. He tugged self-conciously at the edge of his sleeves, disgusted with himself, wanting to end the day before it even began.
Striding confidently through the door after him, was a young Randy Orton. Instead of walking through the door, he glided through it. Orton was always a gracefull young man. He went over to the locker he was assigned with a smug smirk, watching every other stuent at the school run around like scattered chickens on chopping day. He slipped his books, which he had already gathered from his teachers, into the locker carefully, slipping a tattered green bunny onto the locker shelf, then closed the door. There were always a few minutes before the bell rang, so he leaned against the locker and closed his eyes, slightly annoyed that his eyelashes were so long. One day, he would thin them out with something. He rubbed at them with a scowl.
Other students rushed through the door as well, a chubby, pale kid with red hair; a clumsy, skinny kid with a square jaw and dimples; a tall kid with a funny looking scowl; a short tanned kid with a wide smile; a short kid with a thermos of coffee; a tiny boy that laughed like a goat; three boys that wore all black and linked arms to stay together, looking arond fearfully; a rather muscular bald boy who was chewing a fully roasted ham; a bouncy boy that kept slapping his hads together; and a graceful kid that danced along always wanting to get wierd. There were several more that scurried in behind him, among teachers and principals.
As usual, the group of new kids huddled together as they headed to their classes. Soon all the new kids were seated together, in random pairings. Noone wanted to sit next to the boy eating ham, so the redheaded kid sighed and shuffled over.
the teacher of their first class, homeroom, was Mr. Leveque, who stormed in, spraying water in the air with his mouth and flexing. he set a sledgehamer beside the desk and sat down. The chair that held him gave a creak, and he slipped on reading glasses and cleared his throat to stop the random conversations and arguments that had begun there.
"My name is Mr Leveque. I will be your homeroom teacher. " as he spoke, a short boy wandered in and handed Mr. Leveque a few bills from a considerable wad of cash. He slipped into his seat quietly. Mr leveque rolled his eyes and pocketed the cash. He picked up a memo from his desk and read it.
"Due to an increase in unapproved violence in the school, the administration is instating a buddy system in the school" a few groans of dissapointment rang . Leveque just rolled his eyes and kept reading. " To prevent the formation of factions which the school has not approved. The following people will be grouped together and responsible for each other:" the students sat forward.
"Wade Barrett" The tall boy with the funny scowl looked up. "You will be paired with Sheamus O'Shaughnessy." The redheaded kid looked away rom the engrossing show of the bald kid still working on the ham as he heard his name called. "And the two of you come switch seats with David Otunga and The Lights Fantastic."
"It's Faaaaaaannn, Daaaaaaannn-"
"Whatever."
The four students switched seats. Barrett and Sheamus sized each other up, then shook hands and sat.
"NIce ta meet cha" the redhead murmured.
"Likewise, chum. Who says the English and the Irish can't get along, huh?"
"Centuries of history and years of bad bloodt, fella. But me dear ma asked me to behave taday, and ah gave mah word dat ah would." the redhead looked upwards and placed a hand over his heart as he spoke of his mother. he looked down at the desk with frustration. It was a rather tight fit, and the frames were solid iron. Mr. Leveque chuckled as the redhead pushed at the desk, trying to give himself some more space. The redhead got increasinlt upset with the lack of room, beat his chest three times and easily pushed the desk out enough.
"John Cena" the dimpled kid looked up from watching Orton try to pull out his eyelashes.
"You will be paired with Antonio Cesaro."
"Amico!" called Cesaro from across the room. Cena grinned and stumbled over to the free desk beside him.
"Benvenuto! Come stai?" Cesaro said as he held Cena at arm's length and kissed each cheek.
"Bene, grazie. E lei?" Cena replied as he sat. It was good to be around someone who also spoke italian. the two conversed quietly as Mr. Leveque continued to call roll.
"Randy Orton"
Orton looked up from his work on his eyelashes.
"You will be paired with Phillip Brooks, who i will call Punk." CM had been walking over to the desk slowly, and stopped when his teacher used his requested name. a reluctant smile broke out over his hidden features. Maybe everything would be okay at this new school. He slid into his seat, nodding hesitantly at Orton.
Orton ran his eyes over this new kid. A sudden instinct to protect washed over him. "I'll keep you safe." he whispered, before he even realized it.
"Who says I need you to do that, Randall." he shifted in his seat slightly.
"I say. Don't call me Randall, and I won't call you Phillip."
Punk gave a small sigh of resignation. "Fine, Ran. whatever." he was far too tired to deal with this anyway.
"Fine punky." he nudged him with his elbow, noticing that he winced and pulled away.
"I'm sorry." Orton quickly apologized.
"Whatever. I'm fine."
"Cody Rhodes"
The kid with the wide smile looked up with an adorable smirk.
"you will be paired with Theodore Dibiase."
Cody grabbed his bag and headed over to Theodore. "It's Teddy to you." and slipped him a fifty.
Cody handed it back. "I don't want your money, man. How are ya?" he said in a Georgia accent with a wide grin. Althought he wasn't rich, Cody knew better than to be a friend only for Teddy's money. It was a refreshing change. Noone had ever given him his money back to him.
"I'm fine." he said in a halting tone.
" Kofi Kingston"
The kid that had been sapping his hands together looked up.
"You are paired with The Great Fantastico."
"It's Faaaaaaannn, Daaaaaaannn-"
"Whatever." Mr. Leveque interrupted again.
Kofi chuckled as Fandango sashayed over.
"Let's get wierd." he whispered. And with that, Kofi knew it would be a long year.
"David Otunga. you are paired with Daniel Bryan."
Both boys whispered 'yes' and sat beside each other.
"And Ryback."
the boy tearing the ham apart, looked up, chewing.
"You will be paired with Roman-"
"NO!" Roman roared. "The shield sticks together." his fellow shielf mates scooted closer and actually nestled in under each of his arms.
Mr. Leveque sighed in resignation. "Fine. You are paired with Sin Cara"
Ryback looked around, noticing that a small quiet boy had slipped into the seat beside him, with a hot steak in hand. He handed the plate to Ryback just as he finished the ham. Ryback nodded enthusiastically, setting to work on the steak.
Well, that was everyone in this class. Mr. Leveque began his instruction, teaching the children about fire drills and such.
AN: Russian parts are written phonetically. If anyone can write Russian in American fonts, by all means, correct me. I mean no ofense to Russians, or the Russian language.
The test of Orton's promises of protection came when Punk stole Kane's seat at lunch.
"You're in my seat." Kane informed him politely. "Please move."
But Punk, who had his hood pulled around his face, hadn't seen Kane glaring beside him, and didn't know he was speaking to him. Orton stepped in, grabbing Punk gently by the arms and moving his tray across the aisle beside him slowly, whispering apologies to Kane.
"You were in Kane's seat."
Punk looked at the concern in Orton's face with a glance. "Who?"
"Kane. He's the big senior that almost ran you over. I heard he's been held back twice." Orton whispered harshly. "You're lucky he didn't set you on fire!"
Punk, thinking that would have forced the nurses to look at his bruises at the very least, or at the very worst, would have killed him, so He couldn't hurt him anymore. Wishing he had caught on fire and died to get away from Him, Punk muttered, "Luck is for Losers."
Meanwhile, Roman reigns sat with his brothers, who were still hunched beneath his arms, this time also beneath his jacket. He didn't seem to mind their close proximity, but was instead feeding them little bites of his own stacked plate. The lunchladies had been nice enough to put their food all on one plate, and he fed them with a kind grin, murmuring, "Eat up, my lovelies. you'll need your strength today for gym." He cast a deensive glance across the cafeteria occasionally. Only after they wordlessly expressed their satisfaction by burying their faces in his wide ribs did he eat the rest left on the plate quickly.
Barrett and Sheamus sat eating their lunch quietly, neither boy much for talking and eating. Sheamus chomped contentedly on a lunch of pure protein, blissfully unaware that Mr. Leveque was watching. He had noticed Sheamus was incredibly strong, and figured he might make a great addition to the wrestling team. He also had his eye on Reigns, although he would have to wait until gym class to see if his two hangers on would get from beneath his arms.
Cena and Cesaro were getting along famously, when all of a sudden, a large russian named Koslov walked by. stopping and sitting on Cesaro's other side with his lnch. From Cena's end, the conversation went something like this:
"Preev- yet! Kank pa-zhi-vah-eesh?"
koslov grinned and answered " Kha-rah-sho spa-see-byah. ah oo tee-byah?"
Cesaro fixed his mouth to answer, then remembered Cena was there.
"Oh, sorry, friend. This is Koslov, a transfer from germany." he turned to Koslov. "Forgive my manners, my friend, This is John Cena, whose family hails from Italy. He is my new partner in the buddy system."
Koslov waved at him. "You should meet my partner. He too is Italian."
Just then, Santino came speed walking up." I think I will name-a my arms Pasquale and Francesco!" he declared, although he had o muscles yet. he grinned at Koslov, who chuckled in response. "Here Marella, this is John Cena. His roots are Italian."
Santino Immedeately jumped into Cena's lap. "Amico!" and kissed him on the cheeks. Cena chuckled and flashed his dimples. "Ciao, come stai?" he asked
Santino gasped and bounced in Cena's lap. "And he speaks-a the tongue! look at you, huh?" and hugged him again. Koslov yanked him off of Cena's lap into a nearby chair.
"Stop it you make a fool!" Koslov reprimanded him.
Santino hung his head. "Fine. I was-a just happy he speak-a the tongue." Santino slumped in his chair.
When the time came for Gym class, Orton continued to make good on his promise to keep Punk safe. ALthough Punk signed up for wrestling, he didn't get any major bruises, just ran laps for failure to give eye contact. When he hit the showers, Orto was the only one left in the showers. Punk kept his head down, and didn't see. He undressed slowly, wincing, and stepped hesitantly into the shower, his own dried blood rushing off the little cuts in his skin. He was glad noone rom the team could seee him so frail when he heard Orton's surprised gasp behind him.
"What- What happened to you?!" Orton asked a concerned voice.
Punk turned around quic kly, one hand moving to cover the deep bruises on his ribs, the other moving to cover his still- naked privates.
"Nothing, Go away." he tried to move to the side, hoping the shadows would hide his bruises.
But orton wouldn't take no or an amnswer, and dressed Punk in his own slightly larger clothes, rolling up the sleeves and pants legs to make them fit better. He checked Punk out early from the school, calling his mom and asking her to pick him up. She reluctantly agreed, and pulled up in ront of the school a few minutes later. Orton helped Punk into the car and slid in as well, pecking his mother on the cheek.
"What was that for?" she asked with a chuckle.
"For not asking why i needed you to pick me up. Can we go home?" he asked, bouncing his knee anxiously.
"Sure." she shrugged shaking her head at her son's antics. Punk had swept his stringy hair in front of his eyes, masking the black eye from view.
When the two arrived at the Orton's home, Randy jumped out, helping Punk out slowly. the two sprinted up to his room, after Randy stopped at the refrigerator and the bathroom for a moment. Orton came back with some large pieces of beef, a few rolls of gauze, and a irst aid kit. he only had a few minutes to do this before his mom came in asking questions. He undressed Punk and egan with his ribs, laying the raw beef against the bruised flesh and wrapping the ribs with gauze. He went to the legs next, then the arms, and redressed Punk, ending eith his eye, and cleaning other little cuts and bruises on his legs and arms and stomach.
Randy stood to his full height to take care of Punk's eye, and dabbed at it carefully with antiseptic. Punk winced slightly, but after Orton was through, he had to admit, he did feel better. Randy lifted Punk's jaw with one finger and murmured, "You don't have to worry now. you're safe. i'll take care of you"
Years passed and Sheamus became Mr. Leveque's workout partner, shedding several pounds as his partner Wade Barrett gained weight. Every now and then, Wade would look at Sheamus for just a second to long, but Sheamus never noticed, because sometmes, he did too.
Cena and Cesaro remained partners throughout high school, but as Cesaro dabbled in other languages and made new friends, Cena felt more and more like an outsider. They went their separate ways after high school, but in the back of his mind, Cena knew they would meet again.
Koslov and Santino remained partnered through high school as well. They were thicker than thieves, Santino's fantom trumpet playing always incited a mirthful chuckle from Koslov, who in turn was always game to participate in Santino's antics.
Sin cara became more of the gopher of Ryback through the years, neither man much for conversation, but Sin Cara loved to watch him eat, and Ryback loved to eat, so the two kind of made sense.
Ambrose and Rollins eventually left the protection of their Reign's side to try out for wrestling. Reigns watched them go forth with the pride of a mother hen, before slowly realizing he had an interest in the sport himself. He tried out as well, and the three of them were plucked from the independents as a unit. Even too this day, if you catch them at just the right time, you can catch Reigns letting them nestle into his side yet again.
Ted and Cody Rhodes became best friends for life during high school, and ten years later, Teddy would look over and hand Cody a worn fifty dollar bill. Cody, who was then a millionaire of his own efforts, would always hand it back.
High scool also kept together the pairing of Kofi Kingston and The Fantastic Fool, who-
"It's Faaaaaaannn, Daaaaaaannn-"
WHATEVER.
who taught each other a lot through years of wrestling school. Kofi was the only one in the graduating class who could say his new name, and deep down, Fandango knew he was the only one he wanted to say it.
"It's Faaaaaaannn, Daaaaaaannn-"
WHATEVER!
Punk eventually worked up the self-confidence and courage to escape his abusive home, helped in a large part by Randy, who moved out at seventeen so Punk would have a place with him to call home. Both boys tried out for wrestling, and the better Punk got, the more confident he became, until it was time for the two boys to go their separate ways. Punk headed to the indies a lot earlier than Randy headed to the independents. So when the two of them reunited in the WWE, Punk felt a cerertain sense of safety wash over him.
Oron looked at his friend with pride. "When we first met, I said i would take care of you. It makes me proud, and kind of sad, that you don't need me anymore. You can take care of yourself, now. I get that." he stepped away. "But listen, I'm here if you need me."
"Sure, man, thanks."
and with that, Orton walked away, always faithfully returning when Punk needed him, without needing to ask. Somewhere, Orton's protectiveness had transformed to love, and as he looked over at his friend, Orton wouldn't have it any other way.