Part two - Events from the previous chapter from AJ's point of view.
AJ stopped at the nearest smoothie bar on her way back to the hotel. Right now all she needed was an ice-cold fruit drink. She walked up to the counter clutching her money in her hand, with her Hello Kitty bag strapped onto her back.
"Hey, welcome to the Smoothie Shack! What can I get a fine young miss like you today?" The guy behind the counter flirted. He winked at AJ but she wasn't paying any attention as she admired the menu.
"Umm, I'll just take a Tropical Crush, please." AJ smiled. She crumpled the notes up in her hand and waited for the guy to put her order into the cash register.
"Okay, that's a dollar fifty-five please" He said trying to make his face irresistible. AJ just smiled at him politely and placed her money on the counter. She did her best to make sure her hand didn't touch his as he grabbed for her payment almost immediately. Whilst she saw the workers behind turning on the machines she moved to the end of the counter to wait for her order to be ready. Tapping her fingers on the counter she licked her lips as the smell of the fresh fruit danced up her nose. She couldn't wait to guzzle her own smoothie down and forget about her morning blues.
A tanned girl walked over to where AJ was standing and placed her drink down in front of her. "You ordered a Tropical Crush, right?" She chirped. AJ nodded her head silently and gave a toothy smile to the girl.
"Yeah that's me!" She said as she reached out for the plastic cup.
"I have to say it's a great choice! When I take my breaks I always make one for myself, it just has the right fruit combination." The girl said pleasantly.
AJ didn't want to get caught up in the lift stories of a girl she'd met 5 seconds ago and turned to walk away, leaving the girl giggling a little.
"Hey, hold up!" She said calling out, reaching out to try and grab AJ's backpack to hold her back.
AJ turned firmly on her heels and waited for the girl to explain herself. She glanced at her watch dramatically to try and deliver the message that she was in a hurry.
"I…I hope I'm not wrong, but aren't you that wrestler…" she rubbed her head as she tried to work out AJ's name. "That's it!" She said triumphantly, snapping her fingers. "You're AJ Lee!" She said excitedly.
AJ sighed rather heavily but put on a smile. "Yup, that's right. Now do you want a picture or something? I don't want to be mean but I sort of have somewhere to be." She said, smiling faintly.
"Oh would you? Oh, thank you so much!" The girl replied, scuttling through the 'employees only' door to go and get her iPhone. She came hurrying back with the camera app already open. Holding her phone out before them they both smiled and she snapped the shot. AJ stepped away from her a little as the girl thanked her. "You're honestly the nicest person I've ever met! Have a nice day!" She waved as AJ left the smoothie bar.
She stood outside, the sunshine powering down upon her. She walked over to a flowerbed outside the bar and placed her smoothie cup down on the bricked outline so she could pull out her phone and call a cab. Pressing her phone up against her ear she sipped her smoothie delightfully and waited for someone to pick up on the other end.
Much to her dismay, AJ spent another 5 minutes arguing with the cab company who couldn't pick her up for another 25 minutes. She tried telling them who she was, but they told her they'd never heard of the WWE, yeah right.
In a bit of a disappointed mood, AJ slumped herself down on the wall of the flowerbed and now began to guzzle her smoothie down, hoping to drown her sorrows in a load of tropical fruits. All of a sudden she saw two feet appear in front of her, and looked up rather nervously hoping it wouldn't be anyone she knew as she was starting to develop slight brain freeze.
It was the girl who served AJ her drink, although she looked a little different now. She wasn't wearing her orange apron and she'd wiped the fruit juice from the collar of her polo shirt. Her blonde hair was tied back into a rather cute up-do and AJ thought she looked considerably pretty.
"Hey um…I'm real sorry to bother you Miss Lee, but I couldn't help but notice you've been outside for a while now and I wondered if there was anywhere I could drop you to, it would be my pleasure." She gleamed.
AJ smiled limply and stood up before the girl. She was rather a lot smaller than her but that didn't really bother her, she was smaller than most people. "Thank you so much, but I'll be fine."
"But I thought you were in a bit of a hurry? Honestly, I'm not going to kidnap you! It's just one girl helping out another." She joked.
AJ drank the last bit of her smoothie and admitted she was in a bit of a dilemma. "I only need to get to my hotel down the street, it's not too far."
The smoothie girl smiled endlessly. "Of course Miss Lee, no trouble!"
AJ slam dunked her empty juice cup into the nearest trashcan and rubbed her hands together. She was a bit nervous about travelling with a stranger, but what the heck! She was a professional wrestler and could take this girl down in under a second. "Okay thanks, but first of all call me AJ, I hate being referred to as a Miss." AJ laughed. The girl nodded back at her, looking a little star struck that she was about to escort AJ Lee to her hotel.
"I'm Bea, nice to meet you!" She said in a bubbly voice, taking AJ off guard with a hug.
"Well…nice to meet you too Bea. Let's go!" AJ said. She followed Bea over to her plum coloured car and watched as she used the keys to unlock it quickly. She gave AJ a hand gesture to wait a second as she climbed onto the drivers seat and began to throw stuff from the passenger seat into the back of the car. She brushed the cookie crumbs from the seat into the foot well and signalled that AJ could get into the car now.
She walked round to the passenger's side of the car and opened the door gently, getting in and shuffling around in the seat to get comfy, before slamming the door shut. Bea had now put the keys into the ignition and was ready to drive off. The first few minutes were rather awkward as AJ told Bea what hotel she was staying at, worrying if she'd see her appear outside her room every now and then, but she put it all to the back of her mind.
"It must be fun huh? Travelling around a lot. I give you kudos though, I could never leave behind my family and friends but you must be used to it by now." Bea said a little down heartened.
AJ sighed a little thinking about the reality of her career. She pushed the loose strands of hair behind her ears and locked her hands together on her lap. "Yeah I guess so, it's usually the hardest for the first six months, but then you make new friends who become your family so it's easy to adapt to." She replied. Thinking about all the amazing people AJ had met and all the friends she'd made brought a smile to her face.
"What about relationships? Have you ever dated a male in your business?" Bea said in a rather jokey way. AJ knew it was just an innocent question but she couldn't help but feel Bea was crossing the line. "No…no I haven't." AJ lied. "I think it's because you become such a close group of people it'd be like dating your own brother." She lied again, hoping Bea didn't know too much about her. Lying about Punk made her feel dirty, almost ill. She didn't want to keep him a secret but she couldn't exactly tell this stranger how she felt about him, especially as they weren't together anymore.
"Ew!" Bea squealed. "I just thought about dating my own brother, gross!" She laughed.
"Do you have a big family?" AJ questioned, trying to change the subject.
Bea nodded her head, keeping her eyes firmly on the road. "Uhuh, two brothers and a sister. All of us are very close especially me and my brother Jarod, he's my twin." She said proudly.
"Wow, that's pretty awesome." AJ agreed. Being a twin herself would freak her out she thought. Having someone that looked exactly like you didn't seem to appeal to her. She raised a hand to touch her face, thinking about there being another copy of herself out in the world.
Bea turned into the parking lot of AJ's hotel. She parked carefully, making sure not to hit the kerb and making sure she stayed within the lines of the parking spot. Turning off the ignition she patted her knees. "Well, here we are!" She said, turning to smile at AJ. She smiled at her once more and got out of her car, thanking her for the ride.
"Hey AJ, here's my number. I know it's a bit weird seeing as I don't really know you, but I sense something about you. I don't want to sound to bold but it seems like you've got a lot on your mind. I've been through some shit so if you need someone to vent to, call me." She said smiling sympathetically.
AJ reached back inside the car and took the piece of ripped paper from her. "Thanks Bea, I will." She said before turning to walk towards the entrance. As she got to the door she turned and watched Bea drive off in the opposite direction, giving her a little wave as she left. Before she walked inside she took off her backpack and fumbled around inside for her room key.
As she made her way into the hotel lobby after getting stuck in the revolving door several times as usual, a little notification popped up on her phone. With her electric blue painted nails she ran a finger across the screen to see her phone reminding her to pack her belongings for the road tomorrow.
Newly upset by the thought and effort of packing she took the elevator to her floor and entered the room. "Corey I'm…" AJ walked into the room and couldn't hear, or see Corey anywhere. "Hm." She shrugged not really caring.
She threw her bag onto the sofa and plonked herself down on the end of the bed, kicking off her converse. She began to look around the room, feeling rather relieved that Corey wasn't around when she noticed her suitcase on top of the wardrobe. She skipped over to it and jumped up several times trying to reach a handle to pull it down. With a scowl on her face she began to wonder who had put it up there, what a silly place to put a suitcase, on top of a wardrobe standing taller than her own arms could reach. She stomped her way over to the bed and unlocked her phone, going on her call log. She clicked on the top name without realising who it was. She hummed as she heard the phone ringing in her ear, then a sudden feeling of panic came over her. She pulled the phone to where she could see and noticed who she was calling, CM Punk.
Without hesitation AJ ended the call and threw her phone on the bed behind her. She sat there breathing quickly looking all around the room. Then, letting out a heavy sigh from the bottom of her lungs she began to giggle and skipped to the bathroom. Taking a shower would make things better.
The hot water ran down her body as AJ tousled her hair under the showerhead. The glass had steamed up, along with all the mirrors and metal towel racks. She sang carelessly at the top of her voice, wiggling her hips at the appropriate parts. Eventually when she realised that the hotel were charging her on a water meter she turned the taps of quickly and jumped out onto the mats on the floor. She grabbed a towel from the heated rack and rubbed it over her tanned body, eliminating any last water droplets.
She had just managed to get dressed in a new tank top and some black hello kitty sweat pants when she heard loud banging on the door.
"AJ! AJ let me in!" a familiar voice demanded outside. AJ rushed over to the door and twisted the handle, releasing the lock and swinging the door towards her. Punk pushed past her and ran into the room, looking all around before focusing his efforts back on AJ.
"Nothings – happened? He managed to force out between breaths.
AJ looked at him rather confused, "No Punk, I'm the only one here." She watched him as he was bent over, his hands resting on his knees as he breathed heavily, as if he'd ran all the way here in a hurry. "Umm, I don't mean to be rude but why are you here?" She quizzed.
Punk looked up at her, starting to regain strength. "You called?" He said rather confused himself.
AJ looked at him the burst out into laughter. She clutched her sides and let her head fall sideways, looking at him with an amused grin on his face.
"What's so funny?" He said rather angrily, now standing with his arms folded, a familiar scowl on his face.
"Oh, it's just I rang you because I needed help getting my suitcase down from the top of that wardrobe." She said, pointing over in the direction of said suitcase, "But clearly you ran all the way here thinking I was in trouble. That's cute Punk, real cute." She said sarcastically, trying to stop herself from laughing again.
Punk however did not look so amused. "Yeah, I was worried, so? Whatever." He mumbled. AJ stood there for a few minutes staring at him whilst he gazed at the floor, running his fingers through his hair. "Well, d'you want to get my suitcase down?"
"Since when—"
"Well I just thought since you're here you might as well make use of your time, right?" She said cheekily, biting her lip and turning her head to the side, smiling seductively at him.
He rolled his eyes at her once more and walked over to the wardrobe. Leaning up he grabbed the suitcase by the available handles and lowered it down and onto the bed behind him. AJ clapped with joy, jumping up and down. She skipped over to Punk and threw her arms around him, clasping them together around his neck. "Thank youuuuu!" She cried happily.
"Don't worry, it's just a suitcase." He replied, lightly wrapping his hands around her tiny waist. She pulled away suddenly, when Punk was not ready to let go. Making eye contact with him AJ could see what he wanted and was quick to make her feelings known.
"I think we should just be friends Punk." She spat out quickly.
Punk stepped back from her, shaking his head slightly, "What?"
AJ gulped and held her hands behind her back, swaying on her feet a little. "I think it's better if we just stay…friends." She said in her best positive tone. She could see the emotion in Punks face change, and could tell he was not happy with it, but she let him convince her that he was. "Uhh…okay. Yeah, you're right. Friends."
AJ looked at him curiously; sometimes she wished he'd just come out with it. "I'm sorry about what happened this morning. I didn't mean what I said, it's just…"
Punk saw her struggling with words and stopped her mid sentence, opening his own mouth. "It's okay, I asked a ridiculous question." AJ saw him shiver as he recalled the morning's events. They stood across the room now, awkwardly shifting their eyes from the floor to each other.
"I mean…" AJ perked up. "I'd rather not think about anything we've been through, and I know to you it might seem a little bit sudden for me to be having a change of heart…since I told you I hated you, but I just thought about how all this fighting isn't good for either of us, and maybe being friends would make things easier?" AJ's words began to get quieter towards the end of her sentence. Currently, she was standing across the room from the man she thought was the sexiest guy on the planet, and she was putting him in the friend zone? What was she thinking, oh AJ?
Punk nodded at her rather disappointedly. He began to play with his lip ring, which was beginning to make AJ get seriously hot and sweaty so she had to look at a picture of Corey to turn herself off. Who would have thought she'd be using images of her current boyfriend to stop herself from completely annihilating Punk's lips with her own. Instead she just gave him a solemn smile, hoping he'd accept her sudden change of mind.
"Well AJ, if that's what you want, fine." He replied, his words still a little stale and unkind. AJ knew deep down that neither of them just wanted to be friends, but heck it seemed to be for the best.
"Does this mean we're cool?" AJ asked, twinkling her eyes at Punk.
He couldn't help but resist smiling back. He laughed a little, looking down at the floor then back up at her. "We've always been cool."
"Good." AJ said, giving him a loving smile. Slowly she made her way over to him and nestled into his chest as she hugged him delicately. She closed her eyes as she lay her head down on him and inhaled his familiar scent. Punk ran his hands through her fringe before wrapping his own arms around her. Neither of them would admit this hug was lasting a little too long, but hey, they were 'just friends' right?
SPOILER: Opening eyes to a dazed world, the only vision to be seen was that of blue and red flashing lights. "It's okay. Don't wriggle, you're in safe hands. We're the paramedics, we've come to take you to hospital." The sounds of the arena were muffled and nothing much could be heard. The bruises and blows felt heavy against the ribcage lying inside their body. A groan managed to leave their lips, their eyes partially opening through the swelling around them. The pain ran through along with the lasting blood, managing to reach all the vital organs in enough time. A lot of panicking voices rumbled around, and outcries from what sounded like a female? "No! No, that's my...my best friend! You can't-"
"Maam, calm down, we're taking your friend to safety, it's alright." The male paramedic comforted. The female struggled under the grip of the paramedic, her screams turning into cries. She became weak and allowed herself to fall to the floor, black streaks of mascara running tracks down her cheeks, her beauty being hidden by a face of confusion and utter terrified thoughts.
He stood there with his head in his hands, hoping any sign of emotion wouldn't leak from his eyes. A confession lay on the tip of his tongue, ready to be shouted out for the world to hear. The guilt had become a pain, almost as if someone was repeatedly opening the same wound with a dirty dagger, exploiting the human body to all kinds of disease and virus, enough to end a life. No sympathy was to be felt, there was always the possibility it would be seen as an accident, even if the naive workers heard that from a witness.
It was almost as if the world had stopped and an unrealistic reality had taken over. Something you never expected to happen had just taken place before loved ones, and there was nothing anyone could do to turn back time and gain back the power to stop this unfortunate event. As the blue and red lights got fainter and the sound of screeching sirens could no longer be heard, the entire backstage became a black hole. Sounds of despair and tears were now reality, and it all rested on the shoulders of one individual. One distorted phrase echoed silently through his head "...deserved it...deserved it." Would they make it, had the pressure of the blows been too much for one individual to handle? The worst had become the now, and the only thing to do was to wait, hoping day after day that there wouldn't be a single death to mourn.
So there! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, but also THE SPOILER! Who has been hurt? What's happened, and who is to blame? My next upload might be a little delayed, which is why I've left you all with this spoiler to think about.
Don't forget to leave your awesome reviews, as always :D Have an awesome day guys.
