The bus was quiet, except for the sounds of the driver occasionally coughing and Kofi Kingston's snoring.

Insomnia has been a friend of mine for many years. A curse of being on the road as much as I am. My mentor, William Regal, always said that it was a sign of a true genius or villain. He would joke that the jury was still out on the ruling.

I looked absentmindedly out the window. We had to be somewhere in Kansas. I checked my watch and sighed. 3am. Always a lonely time.

I pulled my newest comic book out of my book bag, getting lost in the latest adventures of Wonder Woman.

"Seriously? I didn't know you were into comics." Punk said, sliding into a seat across from me.

I gave a slight shrug. "I keep my nerdom hidden."

Punk gave me a grin that seemed to light the dimly lit area. "You should let your geek flag fly more. It suits you."

I managed to keep my face relaxed when I really wanted to blush. I casually brushed some of my dirty blonde hair back, closing my comic. "Can't sleep either?"

"I rarely do." He shrugged. "What time did Kofi pass out?"

"A few hours ago. He didn't take too kindly to losing to me in Mortal Kombat and Injustice."

Punk's eyes lit up. "Comic books, video games...what else am I missing from the Lexi puzzle?"

"I'm a puzzle?" I questioned.

"An intriguing one." He leaned in closer to me.

"What would you like to know?" I asked.

"Everything."

I laughed. "Well, gee, that's a great place to start."

"Alright." The corner of Punk's mouth twitched. "Let's start with comics."

That topic carried us through movies, TV shows, and music. We ended up learning a lot about each other in a relatively short amount of time.

"You're kidding me! You're a hockey fan?" Punk nearly dropped his soda at my admission.

"Washington Capitals." I proudly said, pointing my thumbs at me.

"The Capitals? Seriously?" Punk made a face.

"Hey! Hey, none of that. Ovechkin is one of the top scorers in the league." I pointed out.

"You're right." Punk chuckled, throwing his hands up. "I know when I'm licked."

"Not yet you don't. But you will." I grinned.

"And what does that mean?"

"It means that the Blackhawks face the Capitals on Friday."

"Is that a challenge?" Punk asked.

"Absolutely."

"Alright, how about this." Punk stroked his bearded chin for a moment. "If the Blackhawks win, you have to go on a date with me."

"You are that confident in your team?" I asked.

"Stanley Cup Champions." He beamed.

"Okay." I nodded, thinking for a second. "When my Capitals beat your Blackhawks, you've got to wear a Capitals jersey Monday night on Raw."

Punk looked at me blankly. "But we're in Illinois on Monday."

"Yep." I gave a mischievous grin.

"I like my bet better."

If I was being truthful, I did too. Instead, my grin grew. "What's a matter, Punk? Not feeling so confident in your boys now?"

Punk cleared his throat. "Of course. You're on, Truman."

He extended his hand out, which I looked at suspiciously before shaking it. "Deal."

"I look forward to taking you out, Lexi."

The next three days went by similarly. Late night talks with Punk every night, a regular gym and meal schedule with him and Kofi. I hadn't noticed that I hadn't had any time alone until Jessie pointed it out Friday at the house show.

"He's been keeping really close tabs on you." She told me.

"I hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary." I said.

"Let's hope it stays that way." She said with a grin.

Punk, Jessie, and I gathered around a TV in the locker room to watch the game. Both of them were wearing Blackhawks jerseys.

"Seriously?" I asked her.

"What? I lived in Chicago for ten years." She tried to sound innocent.

"Traitor." I whispered.

"For what?" She blinked.

"You know what for."

I knew she knew the terms of the bet and it was clear who she wanted to win.

"Relax and watch the game." She encouraged with a smile.

She and I had to leave towards the end of the first period to wrestle our match. When we came back, the second period had just started and the scored was tied at one. Punk went out for his match and again both teams scored.

"Hey, Alexis, can I bother-" Evan Bourne reached out to speak, but was cut off by me yelling at the TV.

"What the hell kind of call was that!" I admonished the refs.

Evan jumped as I threw my water bottle which only made Punk laugh.

"Two minutes in the penalty box for Chimera." Punk gloated.

"Yeah, yeah." I sourly said.

"Uh, Alexis?" Evan tried again.

"I'm sorry." I managed to tear my eyes away from the screen. "Can I help you?"

He rubbed his neck, looking incredibly nervous. I raised my eyebrow expectantly at him. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, uh, just wanted to know if maybe if you aren't busy you want to grab food with me tonight?" Evan shyly asked.

"Oh." I was taken by surprise at his offer.

"She can't!" Punk exclaimed, jumping up from his seat. "Because it's 3-2, baby!"

"We still have ten minutes in the third, Punk." I shortly said.

Punk laughed, dancing around the TV. If I wasn't so highly amused, I might would consider drop kicking him in the chest.

"Sorry, Punk and I have a bet going on. If my team loses, I have to have dinner with him tonight."

"Have to?" Evan question.

"That's the bet." Punk said.

"I'll tell you what." I kindly said to Evan. "I'll get a raincheck, alright?"

That seemed to satisfy him. "Okay." He beamed.

"Oh, but maybe tonight because thanks to my bud Joel Ward, we're tied again. Boo ya!" I exclaimed.

The game ended in a tie, resulting in overtime. When no one scored, a shoot out was in order.

The first two shooters on both teams failed to score, but Patrick Kane for the Blackhawks sneaked one past my goalie.

"No! Holtby! Damn it!" I cursed.

"That's 4-3, Lexi." Punk grinned.

"Yeah, yeah." I bitterly said.

"Don't be sad that your team isn't as good as mine. Be sad that your goalie fell for that obvious fake."

"No, I am."

"You want to take a minute to change?" Punk asked.

I pursed my lips together before standing up. I took the pins out of my hair, letting it hang loosely past my shoulders and removed my jersey. I had already been prepared, either for the date or to gloat.

Punk's eyes raked over me appreciatively. "Alright."

We stopped off at the bus to put up our jerseys. I grabbed my leather jacket and gave myself a quick glance. Steeling my nerves, I emerged out of the bus where Punk already had a rental car waiting.

"You really thought of everything, didn't you?" I asked.

"As I said, I had the utmost belief in my team." He said with his half smirk.

I looked around to see if anyone had been watching us but the area of the parking lot was empty. I had no way of knowing that in the shadows lurked my greatest nightmare.