A/N: This story just hit over 60 reviews. That is insane. Thank you guys so much, and I'm happy that you all enjoy this story. :) So here is Chapter 6. Keep on reviewing, and I hope you all continue to love this story. Zack Ryder was added per request of XxRamyfanxX. Enjoy.
Look After You, Chapter 6
Zack Ryder strolled nonchalantly down the hallway leading to the Superstars' locker rooms. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his jeans and he was humming his theme song quietly. He didn't have a match tonight, so he'd decided to amuse himself by wandering around the arena and seeing what trouble he could get into.
Zack slowed as he approached CM Punk's locker room, his brow furrowing in confusion. Punk's door was wide open. He frowned. It wasn't like Punk to leave his locker room door open. He was a very private guy and he usually kept his door firmly shut, ordering his friends to knock before coming in. Zack began to feel uneasy as he crept towards the open door. A hard weight settled in his stomach and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was horribly wrong. He reached the doorway and poked his head in. "Hey, Pu–"
He stopped talking and froze when he saw what was in the locker room.
"Holy shit!"
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"Keep walking," Daniel Bryan hissed in AJ's ear. He was striding purposefully along behind her, matching her step-for-step. He was close enough to her that no one could see the firm grip that he had on the waistband of her wrestling shorts. "You so much as look at someone wrong, and I'll call Big Show up and tell him to give Punk a little post-match surprise."
AJ stiffened at the thought of Big Show beating on Punk, and she knew that she had to do whatever it took to protect the WWE Champion. So she bowed her head and continued walking, keeping her gaze fixed firmly on the floor so she wouldn't accidentally look at anyone. Behind her, she heard Daniel laugh quietly.
As they approached a side hall, Daniel gave the back of her shorts a jerk. "Go down there," he ordered in a low voice, gesturing to the hallway.
AJ hesitated for a brief second, thinking that if she could just stall him for a few more seconds, then maybe one of her friends would walk by and see them. But no one came, and Daniel jerked her shorts harder this time. "Do it, or Punk's face will meet Big Show's fist."
Her heart plummeting, AJ turned and started down the empty hallway with Daniel right behind her. She was beginning to panic; there was no one down this way. There was no one to hear her scream.
As if reading her mind, Daniel chuckled coldly and said, "Who's gonna save you now?"
A chill ran up her spine as he opened the door to a supply closet and shoved her in. He stepped in after her and pulled the door shut.
Darkness enveloped her, and AJ felt the last bit of hope left in her body drain away.
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The first person to come running up to CM Punk after his match was Zack Ryder. Punk raised his eyebrows in mild surprise; Zack was John Cena's–what was that word they used again?–broski or whatever, so he had expected Zack to congratulate John first. But as soon as Punk caught the panicked look in the Long Island native's eyes, he knew that Zack wasn't there to congratulate him.
"Punk," Zack gasped, skidding to a halt in front of the Straight-Edge Superstar. "I...I don't know how to tell you this, bro..."
A knot of apprehension appeared in Punk's stomach, and he suddenly had a very, very bad feeling. "What is it, Zack? Spit it out."
Zack looked up at him, his face twisted into a grimace. "It's AJ," he said quietly. "She's gone."
The world spun. Punk felt lightheaded and Zack's grim face swam in front of him. He put out a hand to steady himself and ended up leaning against the sturdy shoulder of John Cena, who had appeared just in time to stop Punk from falling.
"What did you just say?" Punk rasped, unable to process what he'd just been told.
"She's gone. I was walking by your locker room and the door was open, so I poked my head in to check things out and I saw Ted and Cody lying passed out on the floor. I woke Ted up and asked him what happened, and he told me that Daniel Bryan had attacked him and Cody. Then he asked me where AJ was, and I realized that she was gone. Ted flipped out, kept saying that you were gonna kill him and that we had to find her..." Zack finished his explanation and looked at Punk anxiously. "Punk, what's going on?"
Punk tried to answer but couldn't. His mind was whirling with this new information. Daniel Bryan had snuck into his locker room, attacked two of his friends, and kidnapped the girl that he loved. The more that he thought about it, the more angry he got.
"Are Ted and Cody okay?" John asked Zack.
"Ted only had a black eye, so he should be fine. But I don't know about Cody; it looked like he got hit in the head with a chair. There was a lot of blood..." Zack swallowed hard before adding, "I called Randy. Here's there with them now."
John nodded. "Okay. We need to come up with a game plan and then–"
"No," Punk growled, cutting him off.
John looked down at him in bewilderment. "No?" he repeated.
Punk pushed himself up off of John's shoulder and glared down the hall, his green eyes burning with rage and determination. "Fuck your game plan, I'm gonna go find her," he snarled. He started down the hall, John and Zack jogging to keep up.
"But Punk, if we all pair up and search, then we can cover more ground. We'll find her faster that way," John objected. But there was no reasoning with Punk.
"Fine, then you two go find everyone else and organize your little search party," Punk snapped. "In the meantime, I'm going to find AJ before that bastard hurts her anymore than he already has."
John opened his mouth to protest, but Zack touched his shoulder and shook his head. Now was not the time.
"Okay Punk, you start looking and we'll get everybody else together. We'll find her in no time, bro, don't worry," Zack called after Punk. Punk just kept walking, apparently oblivious.
John grabbed Zack's arm and dragged him towards the locker rooms. "Come on, bro, let's go get a search party together."
Zack looked at John worriedly. "John, we are gonna find her, right?"
"Of course we are," John answered, his voice solemn. "It's finding her too late that I'm worried about."