April 8, 2012

John had never been so glad for time off in his life, especially since Punk was in such a bad state both physically and emotionally. Punk had staples in his head and he was having nightmares loud enough to wake John from a deep sleep which led to the point where John barely slept, choosing to stay awake and watch over Punk. Punk seemed to come around after a few days but he still took showers long enough to use up all the hot water and came out with blazingly red skin.

John could not figure out what had happened over the course of one day to change Jericho's behavior so abruptly. He had been pretty nice after his and Punk's match at WrestleMania to the point that John thought Jericho had passed the line into over familiarity, what with the hair stroking and practically being pressed to Punk's back when he strapped the Championship belt on. He also seemed to be the only one that picked up on Jericho saying 'we' in reference to the homosexual contingent of the WWE. John had been a little worried that he had yet another competitor for Punk's affection but last Monday night had proved that was a baseless worry unless Jericho had some awfully deranged ideas about what constituted flirting.

There was one house show before Raw and Punk had been given the day off. He knew Laurinaitis would have Punk in the ring at Raw no matter how many staples he had in his head but the road agents were a little more hesitant to put Punk in the ring and chance Punk pulling his staples out and bleeding all over the ring. John knew Punk wasn't quite right mentally when he didn't make him promise to leave Jericho to him when he left for the house show. When John walked into the arena his first order of business was to hunt down Jericho and pay him back what he did to Punk. He was almost immediately waylaid by Otunga, informing him that if he laid a hand on Jericho he would be immediately dismissed. In his current mood John wasn't going to let that stop him but he knew Punk would kick his ass personally for getting himself fired for something he could easily do himself.

John was sitting with Kofi in catering discussing the gossip circulating around backstage about Lesnar's contract. Laurinaitis had agreed to pay Lesnar millions of dollars for maybe 30 appearances. He thought the deal the Rock worked out was scandalous, this was a thousand times worse. He was distracted by Jericho having a very loud conversation a table over. John focused his attention on Jericho.

"How are you doing sweetheart. Have a headache?"

John couldn't imagine anyone wanting to be Jericho's sweetheart.

"Are you so hung over that you couldn't make it to the house show or were you so inebriated that they wouldn't let you on the plane?"

John's head whipped around to face Jericho, immediately noticing that there was an unused cell phone lying on the table in front of Jericho.

"Being the best in the world isn't worth very much anymore is it?"

John jumped up and ripped the cell phone out of Jericho's hand. He looked down to see that he was holding his own cell phone in his hand.

"Phil, I'll call you right back."

"John, don't you dare…" Punk yelled but John hung up on Punk before he could finish his sentence.

"Are you fucking insane Jericho? Who do you think you are, stealing my cell phone from my bag?"

"I just wanted to check up on Punk see if he's fallen off the wagon."

"Motherfucker…"

"Cena, what are you going to do, glare me into submission. You can't lay a hand on me."

"I would beat the smirk off your face if I hadn't just been told that I couldn't lay a hand on you or risk being fired by the order of Laurinaitis. What did you do to get that type of protection?" John said nastily.

"Nothing. I asked for a rematch and Laurinaitis said he would consider it if I could keep Punk in his place and off his radar. No one would appreciate Punk being humiliated, degraded and battered more than Laurinaitis. Do you think they just keep a few bottles of Jack Daniels at ringside in case Cole and Lawler want to do a couple of shots during the commercial break?"

"I remember a time when you wouldn't take shit from anyone, even if she was the boss' daughter and call her a thousand horrible things. I guess that Chris Jericho is long gone and all we have now is this vindictive jerk who can't even man up enough to say these things to Punk's face, and now you're calling him up on the phone to twist the knife a little deeper."

"Well, he isn't here. I was concerned."

"I would say that you wouldn't care if Punk never showed his face here again but I have a feeling that would be a lie. You need Punk to get over. You made one of the worst re-debuts I've ever seen and the Y2J chants quieted down rather quickly. You want your spot back, you're going to have to go through Punk to get it. Best of luck with that. He'll be back on Monday and I can't wait to see you get what you have coming to you."

John turned to Kofi who was holding out his own cell phone to John. He didn't have to guess who had called Kofi and demanded to speak to him.

"Tell Punk goodbye for me, I didn't get the chance earlier," Jericho said, just having to get the last word.

John just glared at Jericho's continued bastardry and walked into the hallway with Kofi's phone in hand. He lifted the phone to his ear to hear Punk laughing lightly on the other end.

"What the hell Phil?"

"Being covered in JD I understand, trashing my family okay. That's all way beyond the pale but all of that happened in the ring or on the screen in front of the fans. He calls me up on the phone where no fan can possibly hear so it's just for his own benefit. He has nothing better to do or no one to talk to so he has to resort to calling his loathed enemy up on the phone for a chat? At least I'm driving Jericho as crazy as he's driving me."

"Don't kill me for saying this but you sound a lot better than you were before I left."

"I know I've been worrying the hell out of you and I'm sorry for that. I just needed some time alone with my thoughts. I'm actually looking forward to coming back to work tomorrow. I've got a few things I need to get off my chest before my brain explodes and what better place to do a little unburdening of my soul than in a WWE ring. By the way, did a road agent talk to you already?"

"Talk to me about what?"

" just posted that you will be taking on Lesnar at Extreme Rules in a match of the same name."

"Well, that makes logical sense actually. Laurinaitis is hedging his bets on all sides."

"What do you mean?"

"The reason I wasn't waiting for you after the JD incident was because I was in Laurinaitis' office. He basically told me flat out that he no longer wanted me as the face of the WWE and was going to fire me. If he did fire me there is a whole office building in Stamford filled with people higher up the chain than him that could dispute that decision so he decides to bring in Lesnar and try to send me out of the WWE by letting Brock beat me so badly that I couldn't work if I wanted to. I may have said the wrong thing and threatened Laurinaitis with you as the next face of the WWE if I was gone. Laurinaitis has let Jericho declare open season on you and I'm not allowed to touch the guy."

"Wow, I'm impressed."

"By what?"

"You unraveled that scheme all on your own. I'm so proud."

"I'm glad you're feeling better. They're calling for me for my match. I'll see you tomorrow."

"That you will. Love too."

"Love you too."

April 9, 2012

Monday Night Raw

John and Punk entered the arena in DC and Punk went straight to the trainer's room to see if he could get his staples removed. Punk seemed a little like his old self and John could only hope that by the end of the night he was still in the same frame of mind. John knew the staples were still in when Punk came back to the locker room with a frustrated look on his face. John watched as Punk slicked his hair back and covered the stapled area. Punk had been informed that he would be taking on Mark Henry again and John wasn't scheduled for a match. The two men shared a look that said that no matter what matches were scheduled the only two people they really had to worry about was Jericho and Lesnar. Both men were in the building and both were probably looking forward to continuing where they left off last week. They dressed and made their way to the monitor bay, taking a seat next to Kofi and Truth.

As the signature came across the screen Laurinaitis came down the ramp with Otunga in tow who was dressed like someone's caddy and looked more likely to hand Laurinaitis a 9 iron than actually contribute anything useful. Laurinaitis was handed a microphone and announced that they had a new face of the WWE. It would take two hands for John to count the number of wrestlers in the monitor bay that considered that moniker their personal property. Laurinaitis went on to proclaim that Lesnar was a legitimate athlete. The insult that went unsaid, but was definitely felt by the roster, was that they were not considered legitimate athletes themselves. The expletives that followed from the roster were loud and varied. Laurinaitis had just succeeded in insulting every one of his employees. John felt the eyes of his co-workers start to stray his way. No matter what delusions some of the roster were under of their importance, no matter how much he wanted to see Punk at the top of the company, he was still the real face of the WWE whether he wanted to be or not. John was ready to head out to the ring and give Laurinaitis the reality check he so desperately needed when a video package cut in that rehashed his ill fated feud with the Rock and John felt all the fight drain out of him. He had been distracted by Punk's well-being all week and his loss at WrestleMania ranked far below taking care of Punk. He felt Punk elbow him hard in his side.

"John, what are still doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"John-boy, get your ass out to that ring and set clown shoes straight."

Both men were distracted by Lesnar making his way to the ring. John looked around at the wrestlers surrounding him yet again, some of the faces pretty much imploring him to go to the ring and put Laurinaitis and his new poster boy in their place.

"John, if you don't get your ass out there now these legs are going to be closed to you for quite some time. Go out there, wipe that stupid grin off Laurinaitis' face or face the consequences."

"Well, that's all the inspiration I need," John said, returning Punk's sly smile. Although it had been only a week since he and Punk had last had sex because Punk had been in no mood for it, John could admit that he had missed being inside Punk desperately. Punk hadn't initiated anything and John knew better not to push, but here Punk was, offering himself up as a reward for going out there and giving Laurinaitis and Lesnar exactly what they deserved. He kissed Punk quickly and stood, making his way to the arena entrance. John's music cued up and he entered the arena with a wide smile on his face. He just stood on the ring apron for a moment and observed the combined stupidity of the three men in the ring. Laurinaitis and Otunga had obviously sensed that John wasn't here to play around, even if he was smiling widely and they backed into a corner.

"I never got to thank you for last week," and John walked right up to Lesnar and slapped the taste out of his mouth, but he found himself on his back almost immediately and was the recipient of a UFC style beat down. He took a vicious punch to the mouth and he could taste blood…and that's when the entirety of the backstage area showed up and tried to break up the fight. He was backed into a corner and looked across the ring at a mass of guys holding Lesnar back. He noticed that they guys around him weren't really restraining him, just kind of standing between him and Lesnar. When he charged Lesnar again no one really made an effort to hold him back. They were broken up briefly before they were at it again. They eventually pulled Lesnar from the ring and John just stood there smirking. After the mess with the Rock a down and dirty brawl was exactly what he needed to feel a little more like himself again. He swiped at his mouth with his hand and it came back covered in blood. He felt himself being patted on the back a few times by the wrestlers surrounding him. He smiled at Kofi who was by his side, "How do I look?" but Kofi wasn't laughing. He looked around the ring for Punk and noticed that he was absent…along with Jericho. That could not be a good sign.

As much as John wished Punk would be waiting for him at the arena entrance he was not there. He saw Kofi take off down the hallway towards the monitor bay. John could hear the raised voices from down the hall. He came upon turned over chairs with Punk and Jericho rolling around on the floor. He could hear Jericho yelling, "Say I'm the best, just say it!"

"Fuck you Jericho!" Punk was screaming, rolling on top of Jericho and slamming his head repeatedly against the floor.

The roster again had to break up another fight, but this one hadn't turned bloody…yet. They managed to pull a seething Punk off Jericho, but Jericho just stood and watched as they held Punk back, smiling like someone who had gotten exactly what they wanted. Jericho just turned and left the monitor bay. Punk finally registered that John had returned, John grabbing Punk by the hand and leading them down the hall to the first unlocked room he found.

"I can't leave you alone for a second, can I?"

"I'm not the one running around with blood gushing from their mouth. I caught most of what went on in the ring before Jericho ambushed me in the chaos of everyone rushing to the ring. It's like the dumbass can't go two minutes without trying to piss me off," Punk ground out with an angry, far away look in his eyes.

He left a strangely silent Punk in the monitor bay and left to find Laurinaitis after Teddy had found him in the hallway and said that Laurinaitis wanted an explanation over the events in the ring. Teddy had smiled and said that Laurinaitis was expecting him to report back but it would be so much better if John responded personally. He followed Teddy back to Laurinaitis' office with a smile on his bloodied face that he hadn't bothered to wipe off. Laurinaitis was obviously displeased to have to deal with John himself. John just smiled which he could tell pissed Laurinaitis off even more. John knew exactly what was up. Laurinaitis wanted him gone from the WWE and if he couldn't outright fire him he could set a match for Extreme Rules between him and Lesnar. John knew his WWE history. While John had been defeated by the Rock, it was Lesnar who had defeated Rock all those years ago. John pretty much dared Laurinaitis to put him in a match that night. When John returned to the monitor bay he found out that it was Otunga who he was going to be facing. Was that the best that Laurinaitis could do?

Punk was still highly pissed when it was time for his rematch for the Championship with Mark Henry. There was no way that this was going to go well with Punk's emotions all over the place, Henry having a huge size advantage over Punk and Jericho lurking around the backstage area somewhere. Punk entered the ring and immediately snatched the mic from the ring announcer's hand. Punk crouched in the ring as if he was going to take his usual seat in the middle of the ring but he was obviously too keyed up to sit still and paced around the ring. Punk started speaking about his straight edge lifestyle, he wasn't defending it, just stating it as a fact, the reasons for which he considered private. He started tearing Jericho apart for daring to deride and lie about his family trying to get under his skin before WrestleMania but all he had gotten for his reprehensible actions was tapping out to Punk but now Jericho had gone one step too far, covering him in alcohol and breaking a bottle over his head last week. Punk paused and shocked John when he said that the worst thing last week was after that when he realized that he smelled exactly like his father. Punk walked over to the ropes and laid his head in his hand for a moment. He was sure the crowd was blown away by his honesty but John knew this speech for what is was…a bad sign of things to come.

Punk continued on manically when he began to talk about the horrible things he had endured in his childhood with an alcoholic for a father when Jericho cut in on the big screen, calling Punk hungover and accusing him of being drunk at that moment. John could tell Punk was slowly falling apart in the ring when he called Jericho 'Chris' instead of his last name. Punk fell to his knees in the ring as Jericho continued on. It was like Punk was begging Jericho to stop. Jericho went so far as to call him CM Drunk. Punk bowed his head for a few moments until he stood up, glaring at the smirking Jericho on the screen. Punk went off the rails completely, telling Jericho that the dark memories and emotions he had brought up in him would only result in Punk kicking Jericho's ass, the mic dropping from Punk's hand. Henry's music started playing, Jericho and his cruel smile being replaced on the screen with Henry's entrance video. John had never been so happy to see the World's Strongest Man in his life, but John would not want to be that man right now and face Punk in his current mind set. It was obvious from the look on Henry's face and his hesitance to get in the ring with Punk that he knew he was going to be meeting a CM Punk in the ring that no one had ever faced before.

The match started with Punk angrily going after Henry. Henry struck back once and Punk rolled to the outside of the ring. Henry followed only to get blasted in the face with one of the monitors from the announce table. Punk was disqualified and Jericho's music immediately played through the arena, Jericho entering with two cases of beer. Henry attacked Punk from behind, battering him until Punk was laid out in the middle of the ring. John wanted so badly to go out to the ring and stop whatever it was that Jericho had planned. Normally Punk would get mad at John's interference but John hesitated when he took into account Punk's current state of mind and what Punk might say or do to him if he interfered. He was forced to watch as Jericho poured beer after beer on a prone Punk, Jericho screaming at Punk like he was completely unhinged. The officials finally went out to the ring. Punk struggled to his feet but Jericho hit him with the Codebreaker. Jericho grabbed the Championship belt and walked around the ring, still ranting crazily and John was glad that Punk was too out of it to see that.

John rushed to the arena entrance and met Punk who was walking on his own but seemed to be completely out of it. Kofi ran up behind them with his and Punk's things. It killed John to let Kofi walk out of the arena with Punk when he couldn't because of the stupid fucking match that he had requested in the first place. If he had just kept his bloody mouth shut he could be leaving with Punk right now. He went into his match with Otunga but all he could really see was Jericho's cruel smirk and horrible taunts. Otunga paid the price for Jericho's actions and John wasn't really surprised when he was blindsided by Lesnar. His mind was on Punk in their hotel room, not on whatever Laurinaitis and Lesnar had schemed between them.

John raced back to the hotel only to find a hallway full of people standing outside his and Punk's room. Kofi was there, along with a road agent, a few security guards and a man with a hotel nametag. John pushed his way into the room to find Punk hunched over on the floor in the middle of their trashed hotel room. Punk was still sticky and smelled of beer and John dropped to the floor, holding Punk in his arms. The road agent and Kofi finally entered the room. The road agent explained that he had paid off the hotel clerk to keep this quiet and they wouldn't be kicking them out of the hotel. He led Punk down the hall into a new room and slammed the door on Kofi and the road agent, even though they had gone to great lengths to smooth over this incident. John stripped a silent Punk and got him into the shower, erasing the physical evidence of what Jericho had done, but the emotional effects were going to be long lasting. John laid Punk in bed, sliding in beside him. Punk was completely unresponsive and John laid facing him, holding Punk's hand and staring into his dead eyes.

AN: I want to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter. I've never gotten so many reviews, I was absolutely shocked! I apologize for taking so long to update this but a combination of real life and a difficult plot point kept me from updating. Hope this was worth the wait.