Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.


Part Twelve

After dropping Eve off at the front of the divas' locker room, knowing she wouldn't be bothered by Ryder or Cena once she was there (no guy in the WWE was stupid enough to attempt to enter that particular room), Daniel Bryan had set off in search of CM Punk, figuring he had to find his friend before Zack Ryder did. After all, if Eve thought that Ryder might try to verify whether she actually went out with Punk and him and Brie tonight, then he figured the guy would just as likely track Punk down himself and ask the man if it was true... Which meant that Daniel had to make sure that if CM Punk was asked the question, he knew the correct answer was 'yes'.

Turning the corner, he quickly saw his friend, lengthening his stride as he walked over to him. "So, Punk, you have any plans after the show tonight?" he asked as he got closer, and his friend glanced over at him, still in mid-stretch as he prepared for his match later tonight against Dolph Ziggler.

Punk arched a brow at him. "Why? You planning to ask me out?" he questioned, smirking and going back to his stretching when that response earned a roll of the eyes from Daniel.

"Oh, please. Like you're my type," the other man returned, then sighed. "I might have implied to Zack Ryder that you and Eve were going out with me and Brie later tonight," he admitted, still eyeing his friend, easily noting the stiffening of Punk's shoulders at his words. Well, not really at his words... More at the simple mention of Zack Ryder's name. Yeah, something was definitely going on there. Not that he was surprised; Eve had more or less admitted that despite not giving him any actual details. Clearly, whatever was going on, Punk *did* have all the details.

CM Punk stopped stretching, instead standing up straight and looking over at him. "What exactly happened?"

Bryan shrugged. "I was talking to AJ about her spots for my match with Show tonight, and I saw Zack approaching Eve. She was sending off 'don't leave me with this guy' vibes, which Kaitlyn seemed to pick up on, but Kelly didn't, so she dragged Kaitlyn off. Eve definitely didn't look happy, so I went over and... The whole 'double date' thing was the first thing I could think of, and it just popped out of my mouth. And Eve kind of figures that Zack might try and check to see if the four of us really did go out tonight, so-"

"Yeah, I'm in," Punk said, nodding. "And she's right, he probably would check." The WWE champion pursed his lips slightly, looking at him, then sighed. "How much do you know?" he asked, and since Punk hadn't given him any details earlier, Daniel knew that what the other man was really asking was more along the lines of 'what did Eve tell you'.

"Not much. Eve doesn't want me to have to lie to Brie and, whatever is going on, she's not ready for Brie and Nikki to know right now. Not yet anyway. And speaking of Nikki... While playing her part back there, Eve asked if Nikki and Ziggler were going out with us, too. I said I didn't know."

"I can talk to Ziggler before our match. I figure if Brie's involved in this thing, then Nikki will be, too."

Daniel smiled slightly. "She would hate to be left out."

"And they both already think that there's something going on between me and Eve anyway, so... Just more ammunition for it," Punk mused, though he didn't seem upset about it. In fact, he seemed kind of... satisfied. It made Daniel wonder all the more what was actually going on... But he understood why Eve hadn't really given him any details. It wasn't really any of his business. Even so...

"Before, you said that you and Eve could handle this. That you'd make sure that she was okay."

"I did."

"You sure you're not going to need help?" Daniel asked, and Punk sighed.

"I... Whatever you or Brie or Nikki know, it's going to be up to Eve. That's all I can say, man. It's her thing, so it's up to her."

"I get that. I just... I know Cena came up to her earlier and that's why she rode with you today. She told me that much. Then I saw Zack bugging her and... You know the rumors that they're about to start a story line with them. Zack's going to be hitting on Eve and best buds with Cena, and they're going to end up dragged into John's problems with Kane or whatever-"

"I know. And don't think I'm not worried about it," Punk replied, then sighed. "If I could find a way to fix that, I would. I keep telling myself that at least Kane's going to be around, and we all know he's a good guy." The WWE champion smirked slightly. "There's a reason he ends up working with the women in the company so often, you know. They all like him because he's actually honestly a nice guy to them and doesn't hit on them."

Daniel nodded slightly at that; he'd seen enough to know that Kane tended to act more like a big brother to the divas than anything else. Which was good for Eve if Cena and Ryder were bugging her. But still... "Maybe they'll come up with something else instead," he mused, and Punk made a face.

"Not if Cena wants to work with her, they won't," the man said, his tone making his distaste clear, and Daniel found himself wondering once again exactly what was going on. Understanding why he wasn't being told didn't change the fact that he was curious.

"Cena does seem to get what he wants, doesn't he?"

"He won't this time," Punk muttered, then looked over at him, visibly trying to calm himself. When he spoke again, his tone was casual, even if the look in his eyes said he was still angry about something. "So, did you and Eve decide what the four of us were going to do on this date?"

"Still up for grabs. Plus, we don't know if it's the four or us or the six of us. I'm sure Nikki and Dolph will be invited. We could just go and grab something to eat. It doesn't matter. We just need to make sure to actually go out and do something. Even if it is just for appearances in case Ryder tries to check it out," the man said, eyeing his friend as he spoke, wondering a little about the look on Punk's face... and whether or not this 'double date' was really just for appearances... or maybe if it was for something more. Because he couldn't shake the feeling that whatever Punk was doing, he was doing it for reasons besides just helping a friend.

Unaware of his friend's musings, CM Punk sighed. "We'll figure out something to do," he said, and Daniel nodded.

"I'm sure we will."