21: AM

Patrick had left his and Charlie's apartment an hour earlier thinking he was doing the right thing. Now, sat on Colby's couch in the early hours of the morning, he felt nothing but guilt. Truth be told, he just had no idea how to act during arguments with his girlfriend. In all of the years they had been together, they were far and few between, and he didn't think he had ever seen her as angry as she was this evening. The worst thing was that he just couldn't figure out what the problem was. Was she upset about the way he behaved in bed? Or how distant they'd become in the past few weeks? Maybe if he had stayed longer to work it all out it'd be okay by now. Maybe they would have been in bed together again, preferably naked, laughing about how stupid all of this had become. That was just the kind of relationship they had.

Instead, he had quickly gotten dressed while she was in the shower and literally ran for it, straight to Colby's house where he had apologized fervently for how late it was and rambled endlessly about how bad he'd fucked up.

After a few minutes in the kitchen, Colby returned to the living room and placed a cup of coffee down in front of Patrick with a warm smile. He took a seat on the couch next to him and placed a comforting arm around his old friend's shoulders, giving him a little shake.

"Come on, man," he began. "It happens. Couples fight. Sometimes over the silliest little things. It happens."

Patrick sighed and ran a hand through his two-toned hair. If he was back home in Detroit, he would have been at Josh 'Chris Sabin' Harter's house in minutes, him being his closest friend and virtually the only person he could share problems this personal with. It wasn't until now that he had realized just how isolated he felt living in Tampa. Sure, he had many friends dotted around the area, but the fact that it had taken him an hour to decide on Colby Lopez as the one person he could go to now was troubling. He had known Colby for years and loved the younger man like a little brother, but sharing so much about his relationship with Charlie with him was... new, to say the least. That wasn't to say that Colby didn't know his stuff, however. He himself had been in a long-term relationship with his high school sweetheart, Leighla, for much longer than Patrick and Charlie had been together.

"Yeah," Patrick said, leaning back against the couch. "Yeah. It's just silly."

"Exactly." Colby clapped his hands together and gave his friend a warm pat on the knee. "I know you guys try to be this superhuman, not-like-all-those-other-couples kind of couple, but it's just not realistic. Especially now you guys are living together. You're going to fight and piss each other off but that's what makes couples stronger. That," he added with a cheeky grin, "and the makeup sex."

Patrick rolled his eyes but couldn't help but laugh at Colby's words, and the situation in general. After all, it was sex that had put them in this position to begin with.

"Damn," he said suddenly, looking down at his watch. "It's almost one in the morning. I should probably call Charlie, see if she's alright. She's probably fast asleep by now, knowing how much that woman loves her beauty sleep."

"Be my guest," Colby said as he stood and took Patrick's empty mug from the table. "I'm gonna go see if Leighla's gone back to sleep yet. Hell, she'll probably still be grumbling about you coming over here at this hour."

Patrick gave a sheepish apology and pulled his phone out of his pocket as the younger man left the room. To his surprise, there was already a voicemail message waiting for him.

"Pat... hey..." Charlie's voice rung out. Patrick frowned as he heard background chatter and dim music in the background of the message. Shrugging it off, he continued listening to the message. "I'm not mad about earlier. That was just me acting up and going all diva on you and you didn't deserve it. I'm just... I'm so sorry about earlier, Pat. I just want to talk things out... I know I've got a lot to make up for. Maybe round two from earlier? Just call me as soon as you get this. I love you, Pat."

The line clicked and Patrick put down his phone, smiling.

"That goofy grin on your face gives me the impression that you've fixed things already," Colby said as he sauntered back into the living room. Patrick's head shot up; he had not even heard him come in.

"I better get back," he said, standing. "Thanks for the coffee, and the shoulder."

"It's nothing. I mean, if you and Charlie, of all people, can't make things last, then who can?"

Patrick gave another soft smile and brought his younger friend in for a hug. After another thank you and a few goodbyes, Colby led him back to the front door. Just as Patrick was going to leave, he grabbed hold of his shoulder and stopped him briefly.

"Just take it easy on her," he said quietly. "I'm sure you know things have been a little rough at work and I don't think she's taking it too well. You know how she can be sometimes."

Patrick frowned at his words, but nodded and returned to his car. As he sat in the front seat and turned on the ignition, he paused in thought for a moment.

"I'm sure you know things have been a little rough at work..."

No... he didn't.

By the time Charlie pulled back into the apartment complex it was well past two in the morning. Patrick's car was already back in its usual spot.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath. She had hoped that she would be the first back.

She walked briskly from the car to her front door, closing it softly behind her. Would he already be in bed, fast asleep? Knowing the mood he was in, she figured he would be.

Charlie kicked off her shoes by the door and shrugged off her jacket, padding softly across the hall towards the bedroom. She jumped back in surprise as Patrick came out of the kitchen, still dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, with what she thought was a sort of sheepish looking smile on his face.

"Hey babe..." He was the first to speak.

"Pat." Her voice came out as a quiet croak. She cleared her throat and started again. "Hey. I didn't think you'd be back tonight."

"I know. I didn't either," he confessed. "I drove around for a while and ended up at Colby's. He sort of just talked some sense into me, made me realize how much of an asshole I've been."

"You haven't-"

"No, Charlie, I have. I've been too busy with all my own stuff and haven't been there for you at all. I know you've been stressed about developmental but I've been such a crappy boyfriend that I don't even know the half of what you're going through."

She bit her lip, feeling a sense of guilt rise up in her. Patrick leaned forward and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, placing a kiss on her forehead as he did so. She gave him a small smile but felt the urge to step away from him, suddenly conscious of the smell of booze on her.

"When I got back and you weren't home I was scared I'd fucked up really bad," he continued. "Where have you been?"

His question was more caring than it was probing or accusative, making Charlie feel even more so guilty.

"Um." She took a deep breath and shrugged casually. "Kind of did what you did. Drove around a little and ended up at Saraya's."

"Idiot," she thought to herself.

He nodded and pulled her in closer, wrapping her in an embrace. They stayed like that for several minutes, enjoying the feeling of total silence and each other.

"Can I be honest with you?" He asked suddenly, pulling away and holding her at arm's length.

She gulped and nodded. "At least one of us has to."

"The reason I've been acting... weird recently is because some stuff happened at a signing a few weeks ago."

"Yeah. I guessed just as much."

He nodded and continued. "One of the fans there got a little heavy-handed and started saying some stuff. About you."

Charlie frowned. It sucked but at this point she was used to all sorts of slander from wrestling fans.

"She talked a little about knowing us from back in the independent days, and brought up all the stupid rumours we've heard a million times before. But..." Charlie noticed him hesitating for a moment and urged him to go on. "She said some stuff about... one of the guys you're working with at developmental. I don't know, probably just trying to stir shit up and adding to the rumour mill and all that, but it was just weird, Charlie. I mean, I've heard it all before, but this one threw me off kilter a little."

Charlie took a deep breath and nodded, taking it all in.

"Okay. Can I ask who the guy is?"

Patrick hesitated.

"Does it really matter?"

"Well, I think I have the right to know who I'm supposedly sleeping with this month," she snapped. "Let me guess, Colby? I mean, that's one I've heard a million times before but it makes sense. Or good old Corey Graves maybe? Ooh, maybe it's someone completely out of left field. I managed Roman Reigns a couple of times, maybe it's him?"

"It's Moxley, actually." Patrick piped up, stopping her from becoming even more agitated than she already was. As he predicted she would, she stopped in her tracks and looked away from him, a shocked expression on her face.

"That's ridiculous," she said quietly. "Why would people make things up like that?"

Patrick shrugged and reached out hesitantly to put a hand on her arm.

"It's complete bullshit," she added quickly. "You know that, don't you?"

He nodded, but she wasn't convinced.

"Is that why you've been acting off with me? You think I'm cheating on you? With Jon freakin' Moxley of all people? Come on!"

She raised her arms in exasperation and began pacing. Patrick followed her movements and stopped her, calming her by wrapping his arms around her again.

"I know it's bullshit, babe. I told you, it just threw me a little. I trust you, Charlie. I always have and I always will. It's just..."

"It's just what?" She interrupted, although with less confrontation in her voice this time.

"It's just him," he admitted. "He doesn't have the best track record. You and I both know him from his glory days. You know the kind of guy he is."

Charlie scoffed in disbelief and stepped away from Patrick's embrace.

"He's a good guy, Pat," she defended him. "We've become good friends at work and he's helped me out a lot. I don't want to sleep with him and he doesn't want to sleep with me. We're co-workers and friends at the most. Just trust me, Pat."

"I do trust you. I just-"

"You just don't trust him." This was more of a statement than a question, and she knew full well that Patrick didn't even have to reply to know the answer, either way. "However you feel about him, you should know me well enough to know you don't have a damn thing to worry about, Patrick."

She dropped her stern stance and came in to embrace him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. He sighed and held onto to her, kissing the top of her head softly.

"I love you, Patrick. Do you really think I'd put up with you for this long if I didn't?"

He let out a quiet laugh and shook his head.

"I love you more than you even know. I'm sorry at shitty at showing it."

She pulled away again, this time to look up at him with a small and plant a kiss on his lips.

"Hey, you're not that bad. I mean, you did literally cover me in your love a few hours ago," she joked.

The two of them burst out laughing and Patrick buried his face in his hands, turning red in embarrassment.

"I'm not completely ruling that kind of thing out," she added, giggling. "But maybe give me some warning beforehand next time?"

Patrick sighed as he calmed his fit of laughter.

"Got it. Now, I'd really like 'next time' to be right now, but I think we've got a lot of catching up to do. Maybe you wanna tell me about what's going on at work with you."

She took a deep breath and nodded, allowing him to place his arm around her and lead her back to their bedroom. The two of them got undressed and into pajamas: Charlie in a pair of shorts and one of his baggy t-shirts and Patrick simply in a pair of boxers.

As soon as they had both climbed into bed and got under the covers, neither could stop talking about all of the things they had going on at work. Charlie bit her lip as she listened to Patrick rave about how many great matches he'd been having on Impact; all leading up to his big chance at the X Division title at Bound For Glory in a matter of months. What he didn't know was how little of the show Charlie had seen since she began at WWE developmental. She would get to it, eventually, but training, live events and television tapings left her with very little time to sit and watch TV. She nodded along as he bounced up and down in glee, sharing in his own joy.

When they got onto the subject of her own wrestling situation, the mood was not as bright. All the same, Charlie tried to keep her spirits up, explaining calmly how she had been cut from NXT TV, how much she had been struggling with impressing the higher-ups and so on. It wasn't until she was finally able to sit with Patrick and reflect, and verbalize all that had been building up over the past few months that she felt a sense of relief leave her. When said out loud, all of her worries and anxieties felt pretty silly. This was even more emphasised by Patrick's gentle reminder to her of how lucky she was to be living her dream, and about how many people who kill to be in her shoes.

Before long, the two had drifted off to sleep, entangled in each other. Patrick was the first to nod off, leaving Charlie awake, watching him for a few minutes. As he slept she planted kisses across his stubbly jaw line and toned chest, taking in every inch of him from his floppy blond faux-hawk to the smile that had crept across his face as he slept. She was definitely lucky, in more ways than one, and she was now beginning to understand that.

The clock had just turned four in the morning as Charlie joined Patrick in slumber. A short distance away, Jon Good was still awake, stood on the balcony outside of his apartment smoking a cigarette. Angelina was now fast asleep in his bed. He had left his home several hours earlier feeling, in his own words, bored and lonely. He had found the solution briefly in Charlie, the woman who had out of nowhere caught his interest; the spitfire who kept him on his toes. Glancing at his watch, he knew full well that by now she and her boyfriend probably would have already made up after whatever fight they'd had. She was a lucky one, he thought to himself. He let out a dry chuckle to himself thinking about how unaware of this she was, but what could you do? It was four in the morning and Jon Good, Moxley, Dean Ambrose, whoever he was tonight was once again bored and lonely, with a naked woman in his bed and the woman he wanted across town in bed with her boyfriend. There was something about this time of day that made everything seem a little clearer; for better or for worse.

So I've finally got on a roll with this story again! I know I've just started updating again after a long hiatus, but I'm feeling a lot of inspiration right now. I'm hoping to update daily or at most every other day because I just can't stop writing this! I would appreciate some feedback in the form of reviews, favourites, follows etc! The drama is about to start unfolding so I hope you guys enjoy the ride :) mwah xo