Safe Place
A few weeks later Punk and AJ had become inseparable. She traveled with him and Kofi, worked out before shows together and spent a lot of time getting to know each other again. Punk also kept his word to AJ and didn't tell a soul about what she told him. He had at one point considered Jay to be a friend of his but not anymore, not after what AJ told him. He had thought AJ would tell him how Jay hit her or yelled at her all of the time but he was swerved with what actually went down. Punk wanted nothing more than to fly down to Tampa and beat the shit out of Jay but keeping his word to AJ trumped his violent desire. He loved having AJ back like the way he remembered her.
"Tonight is a big night." AJ said to Punk as she freely walked into his locker room.
"Why?" He asked her.
"There's only three of us left." AJ pointed out. "After I make it through tonight there's only one more show." she said sitting on the large couch.
"You're going to win the whole damn thing." Punk assured her.
"Of course I am." She smirked. "Even though Trinity and Celeste are amazing."
"You're better." Punk said simply.
"You're only saying that because you like me the best." She teased.
"Obviously." He snorted. "And you're the best."
"The best in the world." She said to him and he smirked.
"No matter what happens though you have a place here." He said to her.
"I need this." AJ said to him. "These last few weeks I finally feel like myself again. Being in that ring and in front of those people have made me feel alive. If I don't win and have to go home I don't know what I'll do. I don't have a plan B."
"You won't need a plan B and you're not going home." Punk assured her. "You belong here. Now stop talking negative and get ready to win."
"Ok." She said standing up. "Are you going to be watching?"
"Of course I am." Punk smirked walking her to the door and as he opened it his blonde ex walked in. "Do you mind?" He asked the rude women's champion.
"No." Beth said sitting on the couch.
"I should get going." AJ said to Punk.
"Good luck." He whispered to her and she walked out of the locker room. "You can go too." He said keeping the door open.
"I wanted to talk about your interview." Beth said to him. "Why did you trash me?"
"I didn't say your name." Punk pointed out. "But if you felt I was talking about you..."
"Everyone knows you were talking about me." Beth spat. "I want an apology."
"And I want to be off every Blackhawks game." Punk responded sarcastically.
"You know I heard the rumors but didn't believe it until I saw it walking out of your locker room." Beth smirked.
"What are you talking about?" Punk asked her.
"Little rookie AJ." Beth laughed. "You're sleeping with her."
"I'm not sleeping with AJ." Punk said with a smile. "Not that it's your business."
"You're always with her." Beth pointed out.
"She's an old friend." Punk shrugged. "I've known her since she was nineteen."
"No way." Beth scoffed.
"Yes way." Punk said to her simply. "You can spread that around now too if you want."
"She's not going to win." Beth said to him and he rolled his eyes. "You know these competitions are as rigged as the polls online. They hand picked their winner week one."
"You're full of shit." Punk scoffed.
"Fine." Beth said walking towards the door. "But when your little girl gets sent packing don't say I didn't warn you."
"If they were going to handpick anyone to win it would be her." Punk said not wanting to believe it.
"Yea it would totally be your tiny friend who has no body shape, no desire to put on makeup and a dress and looks barely old enough to enter a bar let alone a ring." Beth chuckled. "Vince and Hunter want strong looking women in this division to give me competition. Celeste has it in the bag." she told him then walked away.
Punk was in his locker room watching NXT nervously. He would normally never believe Beth but she had a point. Everything was rigged in the company and contests were no different. AJ was so over with the crowd but she didn't fit their vision of a 'Diva'.
"You alright man?" Kofi asked making himself comfortable.
"I'm worried." Punk admitted.
"She's the best one." Kofi reminded him. "Besides even if she doesn't win it doesn't mean she won't get signed."
"She needs to get signed." Punk said keeping his eyes locked on the screen.
"She needs it or you need it?" Kofi asked and Punk looked back at him.
"She needs it. Why would I need it?" Punk asked.
"I don't know. You two have been attached by the hip lately." Kofi pointed out. "I think you really like having her around."
"Of course I do." Punk shrugged. "But she really needs this. If she didn't win and went home and was ok with it I would be ok with it."
"Oh really?" Kofi asked laughing.
"Yea really. She doesn't have to be here to be my friend." Punk reasoned.
"Now you're friends?" Kofi asked.
"We've always been friends." Punk said to him.
"You loved her." Kofi reminded him. "You told me about her before you knew she was here. You must still feel that."
"Of course I love her." Punk said to him. "Same as I love Amy."
"It is not the same." Kofi argued. "You and Amy are like brother and sister, you don't look at AJ the way you look at Amy."
"I don't look at AJ in any weird way." Punk defended.
"When she bends over you're looking at her ass." Kofi told him and Punk rolled his eyes.
"I'd look at any woman's ass." Punk defended.
"You smile at her when she's not looking." Kofi said to him and Punk had to laugh.
"I do not." Punk stated very amused.
"Yes you do!" Kofi laughed back pointing at him. "You do it all of the time on the bus!"
"Whatever man." Punk groaned looking back towards the TV.
"People are talking you know." Kofi warned him.
"Yea I heard." Punk said watching the screen. "I don't give a shit what people think."
"Could have done her in if she does get cut." Kofi mumbled and Punk looked back towards him.
"What?" Punk asked him.
"It's just word around the back is the big bosses want her gone." Kofi said to to him.
"Because of me?" Punk asked stunned.
"I really don't know man." Kofi said nervously wishing he never bought it up.
"You know something, fucking talk!" Punk yelled.
"You know how Hunter feels about you man." Kofi sighed. "He doesn't like you as it is and from what I heard he was never a big fan of AJ. He likes tones big women and AJ is small. It's like a two for one if she goes."
"Fuck that." Punk snapped standing up.
"Relax it's all just rumors." Kofi assured him.
"AJ looks fine why does everyone keep calling her small." Punk argued.
"She is small." Kofi pointed out. "Have you ever seen a diva her size before actually wrestle?"
"Sure. Jacqueline." Punk said to him.
"Jackie was fucking ripped." Kofi pointed out.
"Give her a little fucking time!" Punk yelled.
"I love AJ- not like you do of course- I would give her all of the time in the world." Kofi said to him.
"None of those girls can work a crowd like her." Punk insisted. "Why wouldn't they want her?"
"She doesn't fit the mold." Kofi shrugged. "I hear Vince likes her though so he could out rule Hunter."
"What mold? What are you trying to say? She's not pretty enough to work here?" Punk demanded.
"She's beautiful man." Kofi told him honestly. "The boys backstage sure like watching her but like I said you know Hunter and Vince have tunnel vision when it comes to the talent. It's their way or no way."
"That doesn't fly with me. She deserves to be here." Punk argued.
"If it doesn't work she can go back on the independent circuit." Kofi suggested. "I mean she was so big with Jay I'm sure it would be easy for her to get back."
Punk's heart dropped realizing that if AJ didn't get a contract with WWE she might be forced to work the same events as Jay Lethal and he couldn't have that. He let her down seven years ago and sent her straight into his arms, he wouldn't make that mistake again.
"She can't do that." Punk said to him.
"Maybe you should just stay out of it." Kofi said to him and Punk narrowed his eyes at him.
"Why should I?" Punk snorted. "She's my friend."
"Yea and the more upset you get the more people will realize how much you do like her." Kofi said to him.
"What part of 'I don't give a shit what people think' don't you get?" Punk asked him slowly.
"She's already a target for Hunter." Kofi pointed out. "Everyone back here wants a piece of your title and a chance. What could piss you off to the point of demanding to get into the ring with one of them?" he asked mockingly.
"AJ is my friend." Punk said to him and again Kofi rolled his eyes.
"I believe ya man." He forced out and Punk glared at him.
"I've known her for seven years! She's going through a lot and I'm the only one she knows here besides Amy!" Punk yelled.
"I'm not saying it's wrong. I actually think you should date her." Kofi said to him.
"I don't want to date her I want to help her." Punk told him and Kofi just nodded. "Why don't you believe me?"
"Because I know you." Kofi said to him.
"Trust me she's not ready for a relationship and like you pointed out I know if I dated her I'd be painting a big target on her back." Punk said to him.
"Oh damn." Kofi said looking at the screen and Punk looked back to see AJ being eliminated from the competition.
"Fuck." Punk groaned as he watched AJ hug Ziggler and then the other girls still left in the competition.
"Look-" Kofi started but Punk was already out of the locker room.
Punk headed towards the curtain where AJ was coming through and quickly grabbed her before anyone could say anything to her and pulled her into a private room.
"Let it out in here. Not out there where everyone is going to see." Punk ordered.
"Phil-" She started trying not to cry.
"This is your safe place here with me." Punk promised her. "Cry about here but don't give any of those people out there any excuse to say anything to you. Don't let them see that you're human."
AJ wrapped her arms around him and cried into his chest and he held her tightly.
"I thought I was going to win." She cried into his chest.
"You should have. This company is bullshit." Punk hissed coldly. "You're going to make it here whether they want it or not."
"I think that's impossible." She said to him.
"Nothing is impossible. They didn't want me to make it either and look where I am now." Punk told her as he soothingly rubbed her back.
"I can't believe I have to go back home." She said to him. "I just got used to being on the road and having you around."
"I'm going to be around." he promised her. "I won't fuck up twice. And you're going to be sticking around I promise you that."
"I lost." She reminded him pulling away and wiping her tears away. "Jay was right." She said sitting in a chair. "He told me I'd never make it here. You told me it too."
"I never said that." he groaned. "I said you were too good to be here and I still believe that. But it doesn't mean I don't want you here. They'll sign you to a deal. Just because you didn't win this stupid competition doesn't mean they won't keep you."
"Why would they keep me?" she asked him and he kneeled down in front of her while she sat.
"Because they'd be stupid not to." Punk said simply. "You're the most talented in the ring, you're charismatic, you can act, you're beautiful, you're strong, you're smart, do you get the point?"
"Thank you." She said with a sad smile. "You know what? It's ok. Maybe I just wasn't meant to win maybe me doing this was just the universe's way of bringing you back into my life and if that's all I got out of this than I'm ok with it."
"You're going to get everything out of this that you deserve which is so much more." He told her. "You made a big impact here and I know they'll want to keep you."
"I don't think they're going to sign me anytime soon." She sighed calming down. "I have to go back to New York and try to avoid my mother." She said forcing half a smirk.
"You don't have to." Punk said to her. "You can stay on the road with me."
"Oh no." She laughed. "I learned seven years ago to stop showing up at places I wasn't wanted."
"You're wanted here. I want you here." He said to her. "I like having you on my bus with me."
"Only because I clean it." She said seriously.
"Well that is an added bonus." He said to her. "It's just not to have a friend on the road with me."
"You'll have Kofi." She pointed out.
"It's not the same." he said to her. "He doesn't know me like you do. You knew me before all of this."
"Promise me one thing." She began grabbing his hands. "Promise that even if I don't get signed you won't forget about me."
"I've never forgotten you." He sighed. "And trust me I've tried in the past. You're locked in with me for good."
"I can't talk to anyone like I can talk to you and I know it sounds selfish but you've really helped me these last few weeks and not just with the wrestling, with everything." She admitted.
"That's all I wanted." He said to her.
"Jay is probably gloating right now." She said bitterly.
"Fuck him." Punk spat. "You're going to be the most talked about WWE superstar soon."
"You should get going." AJ said quickly standing up. "And I should get my stuff and hide out on the bus."
"I'll skip out early if I can." Punk said to her. "Just go into my room and try to relax."
"Thanks." She said to him and he kissed her forehead sweetly.
Punk ended up working until the end of the show and even the dark match so he didn't get a chance to get back to the bus until close to midnight. The second he stepped on he saw Kofi was already on there.
"Has she come out?" Punk asked him.
"Who?" Kofi asked.
"AJ." Punk said dropping his bag onto the couch as the bus started to take off.
"She's not on the bus." Kofi said to him.
"Hey don't leave the lot yet." Punk instructed the driver and headed to the back room.
"I went in there and she wasn't there." Kofi said but Punk went inside and checked anyway.
"She has to be." Punk said then spotted a note on his bed and picked it up.
Phil,
I had to go home and clear my head. Thank you for the pep talk and having my back these last few weeks. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.
Love,
April
"She went home?" Kofi asked him and Punk put the note down.
"Yea she did." he said crumpling up the note and throwing it in the trash.
"So when are you flying out to get her?" Kofi asked.
"I'm not." He said to him. "She needs to clear her mind and I'm going to let her. If she wanted to be around me she'd be here now."
"Go to New York." Kofi said to him. "Talk to her, tell her how you feel and don't pussy out like you did seven years ago."
"I'm not flying out to New York again." Punk chuckled. "I'm done flying out to New York."
"Didn't you tell me she used to follow you around and pursued you that summer?" Kofi asked him.
"Sort of." Punk said to him.
"It's your turn." Kofi said to him. "You didn't go to New York seven years ago and look what happened. There's a reason she showed up here now in your life. Go to her."
"I went to see her a few weeks there." Punk reasoned.
"And you told me you had this great talk with her and talked about the past and that's great. You both can finally move on from the past and focus on the present." Kofi said to him.
"Why are you pushing me on this?" Punk asked annoyed.
"Because since she's been back you haven't been with anyone." Kofi said to him. "I've never seen you go longer than a week without a woman before and you're happy when she's around and now with her gone I fear for my own sanity. You're not working Smackdown, go to the airline and meet her in New York."
"No matter how I feel about her doesn't change the fact that she doesn't feel the same about me." Punk said to him.
"How do you know that?" Kofi scoffed.
"She's not ready for anything yet." Punk said to her. "She went through a lot and it's too soon."
"Alright." Kofi shrugged sitting on the couch and turning on the TV. "I had no idea you were such a chicken shit though."
"I'm not a chicken shit." Punk spat.
"You're afraid of getting turned down." Kofi laughed slightly. "If it wasn't so pathetic I would think it was cute."
Punk didn't respond but turned and headed into his room and made sure to slam the door as hard as he could and Kofi laughed out loud.
A/N: Is Kofi right, is Punk just afraid of the rejection? Will he got to New York?