I know, I know. Finally!

That Friday afternoon Kaitlyn was putting her last finishing touches on AJ's new apartment for the house warming party. She finished hanging up the paper decorations on the wall, and checked to see whether to see the fridge was well stocked with beverages for the third time again. It was insane how stressed out she was to pull everything off perfectly, yet the actual owner of the apartment, aka AJ Lee seemed to be more calm than ever. She made a note to herself to never take over such a task like this because she felt exhausted.

She looked at the brand new clock on the wall, and it read 4PM. She knew that AJ had told everyone to start coming by 7PM, and she was glad that she had time to prepare and actually look decent. When she went to the bathroom earlier, she was almost scared of the person who looked right back at her in the mirror. She was a mess, and her hair looked like it had never seen a brush before. Luckily, she had brought all of the things she needed to get ready for that night, hopefully by the time people started to show up, she wouldn't look like an overly stressed monster anymore.

"Kaitlyn, the place looks great! I can't believe you managed to pull this off all by yourself." AJ entered the living room with a cup of tea in her hands. She leaned against the door frame and slowly blew in her cup. "There's tea in the kitchen if you want." And she took the cup between her lips and sipped.

"Thanks, but I'll take a break once everything is in their rightful place." Kaitlyn got down from the step ladder and looked around the room. She had never noticed how big the living room was before she started putting up the decorations.

"Everything is exactly right in their place Kate, you did a wonderful job. Go and take some tea and start getting ready." AJ hugged Kaitlyn and assured her that there was nothing else left to do. "I think you should skip the tea and go and get a shower, you stink." AJ crunched her nose at the smell of Kate's body odor.

"That's what I get for working nonstop; on my day off may I mention, to make your place look amazing!" Kaitlyn put her hands on her hips looked down at her best friend with a raised eyebrow.

"I know, I know. I owe you one but that doesn't change the fact that you need a shower." AJ grinned at Kaitlyn, and shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine! Don't touch anything, or it's your life!" Kaitlyn pointed her finger at AJ, and widened her eyes at her.

"I won't even step in the living room until it's 7, alright? I'll go and see what I'm going to wear for tonight, because I have no fucking clue. Thanks again, Kate." AJ had wanted to pick out the best dress that she owned for the party. She didn't have time to go and buy a new one, but she knew she had a couple of dresses hanging in her brand new closet still with the price tag intact. One of them must have been the perfect dress, and deep down she wanted to impress both Punk and Dean, even though she didn't mention anything to Kaitlyn. She wanted to get their attention, maybe think about what they were missing when they'd see her in that perfect dress. She almost felt embarrassed of herself to think of such a thing, but being selfish was her own little secret.

Kate nodded and they both went to the bedroom and the bathroom respectively.

CM Punk and Kofi were in a rented car, and they easily got lost along their journey to AJ's place because they were unfamiliar with the streets of the city. Although they had been in Tampa a million times, they had never driven down these streets where AJ's apartment was supposedly located at. Punk never really understood why she chose Tampa over her own hometown of New Jersey, but that was up to her and not him.

"We need some directions." Kofi finally gave up trying to work the GPS he had bought for a bargain. He remembered how much he annoyed Punk, by continuously mentioning over and over again that he only bought it for 10 dollars. He wanted to eat his words since it might have not been a bargain at all. The damn thing couldn't work properly, no matter how many times he tried to follow the instructions from the manual. He felt like throwing it out of the window.

"Jesus Kofi, you give up too easily. We're still early so we've got time. Hey, didn't I already see that building?" CM Punk scratched his head and he too felt like a hopeless case. He truly missed his tour bus and especially the tour bus driver, Robert, or Rob as he liked to call him. He would've known the right way to go to AJ's apartment. Sometimes he'd think that he had all the streets of America memorized because he always knew how to get to places using all of the short cuts known to man.

"We've seen that building about 5 times now!" Kofi exclaimed and he hit the top of the GPS in the hopes that it might start working, but all he got was an error message in Korean and he immediately threw it behind him at the back seat mumbling some curse words under his breath.

Punk just shook his head, "Careful, there's AJ's present in the back seat. Don't want you to break it before we get there." Punk briefly took his eyes off the road to look at Kofi, who was still infuriated at the GPS.

"What did you get her anyways?" Kofi didn't bother to buy her anything because he had no clue on what AJ liked, except for video games and comic books and he took the easiest way out by buying her some red wine for the party. Of course Punk did not like Kofi's idea of a present, but he wasn't going to fret because he hated buying presents in general, and he wasn't going to buy her something else just because Punk disapproved it.

"I got her this shabby chic ornament thing that says, Home Sweet Home. The second I saw it, I knew that it was perfect for AJ." Punk felt proud of his present and he hoped that AJ would love it as much as he did.

"Never thought you could be so creative when it comes to presents." Kofi commented as he looked outside the window and saw that damn building again. They were literally driving in circles.

"Come on man, it's AJ. I can't buy the easiest and cheapest present just so I don't go there with my hands empty." He looked at Kofi again with a smile on his face, and his best friend simply glared at him. Punk chuckled but Kofi wasn't seeing the lighter side of the situation. He was rather grumpy throughout the whole day, to which Punk thought that he wasn't really in the mood for a house warming party. But he had to tag along just because he respected Punk.

"You think it's going to be weird with Dean being there?" Punk finally aired out the only thing that he was dreading from the party. It had been eating at him ever since AJ had told him. He did not like it one bit, but he couldn't back out after he gave AJ his word. She would have been devastated if he had told her that something came up just to avoid facing Dean Ambrose.

Kofi took a moment to deliberately think it through and he just shrugged his shoulders, "I don't see why it should be. If you two stay out of each other's way, both of you will be fine."

Punk wished that it would have been that easy but he knew that he was going to end up in a sticky and awkward situation with just the three of them alone. He was just sure of it. Dean had been an obstacle for Punk ever since he joined the WWE roster, and he wished that he stayed in NXT just so he could have AJ all to himself. Call him selfish but that was what he thought.

"It's almost seven, Punk. Let's ask someone. I want to get this over with and we still don't know where we are! Look ask that lady over there!" He pointed to a middle aged woman carrying a shopping bag, and they parked near the curb to get some directions. Luckily enough, she knew the street of AJ's address and she showed them the right way.

"Jesus we were so close, yet you had to make the same left turn all the time instead of a right turn! Next time I'm driving!" Kofi exclaimed as they finally reached AJ's apartment 15 minutes later. They could have saved so much time and gas if they had asked for directions in the first place.

"Will you just fucking calm down, Kof? I know you don't want to be here, but we are so you better show me some teeth and it better be because you're smiling." Punk got out of the car and took out the present from the back. He was not having any of Kofi's antics anymore. They were going to the party, and they were going to have fun.

When they stepped on her porch, Punk took out a small piece of paper from his jeans pocket. "This is the address." He confirmed as he double checked from the address that was written down on it. He could hear some background music coming from inside the house. He looked at Kofi and took a deep, yet shaky breath.

"Really? Now you're getting nervous?" Kofi shook his head and without giving Punk time to defend himself, he knocked a couple of times on the white wooden door. He could smell that it had been repainted not long ago, because the smell was still lingering around and he added this to the huge list of why he did not want to be there.

Punk was finally about to give Kofi a piece of his mind when the door immediately opened with AJ in a lovely black frill dress. It was nothing special, it was the simplest dress he had ever seen, but by God she looked mouthwatering. Punk was taken aback at how lovely AJ looked, and he was lost for words. Kofi took one look at his friend and rolled his eyes.

Here we go again; he said to himself. It amazed him as how both AJ and Punk could love and hate each other at the same time. One minute they want to spend an eternity in each other's arms, the next they wanted to strangle each other. He never understood their relationship, but if AJ was what Punk wanted, he wasn't going to stop him.

Without giving AJ a chance to invite both of them in, Kofi broke the as what he liked to call it, the 'staring contest', "I'm going in. It seems like it's going to take a while out here, and this wine is getting warm."

AJ couldn't comprehend anything that was coming from Kofi's mouth, since she was still in a trance of admiring Punk and the way he looked. He wasn't wearing anything special if one would look at him, but Punk was never just another guy to her, and he was looking mighty fine that day.

Kofi shook the bottle of wine right in front of AJ's face and he shook his head. "Don't you dare tell me you hate each other, ever, or else I'm going to punch both of you in the jaw." Kofi was over their relationship, and he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Oh, where are my manners, do come in." AJ moved aside as both men walked in her brand new home.

"Wow, AJ gotta tell you, this place looks amazing." CM Punk immediately commented on the apartment. It looked better than what he had imagined in his head, and oddly enough it didn't have anything that was related to comic books or video games in sight. He was glad he had chosen the gift he bought, or else he would have been embarrassed if he bought her something affiliated with some super hero or something. The house almost didn't seem like it belonged to AJ. It looked like it belonged to an adult, and not to AJ. It wasn't that AJ wasn't an adult, or that she had never acted like one, but he imagined her decorating her house the way AJ Lee knew how. Guess he was wrong.

"Wait till you see the living room. Kate has been slaving over it for the past 24 hours just for this stupid party. She's such a perfectionist, but I love her and what she has done with it. I could have never pulled it off by myself." She showed them the way to the living room while she talked more about the apartment, and both men followed her like lost puppies.

When they entered the living room, they could see the refreshments table, the decorations and everything else set up for the house warming party. There were already a couple of superstars, already making conversations, and sipping on their beer. Punk had wanted to be the first one there, but thanks to Kofi's GPS, Ziggler, Alicia Fox, and Natalya had made it before they did. He was curious whether Dean was already there or not, even though there wasn't any sight or any mention of him. He felt like he had a win over him.

"Hey Kof, you can give me the wine so I'll put it in the fridge." AJ extended out her hand as Kofi handed over the wine, and she thanked him.

Punk was feeling rather awkward with his present in his hands, and he wanted to get rid of it. He wanted to give it to her personally, just so he could be there to watch her reaction when she'd open it. He had already noticed the small table with three unopened gifts on it, and he didn't want his to be just another wrapped box among the others.

"Want me to help you in the kitchen, AJ?" Punk leaned in her ear and offered. He gave AJ a hopeful smile and, she nodded. "Uhm, sure thing. Kate, I'll be in the kitchen, will you get the door if the bell rings?" She called over to her best friend. She knew she was still expecting another ten or so guests to come to the party.

From the other side of the room, Kate gave her two thumbs up as she was talking to Ziggler about something that looked important.

Punk followed AJ to the kitchen, as he looked behind him to check on Kofi and he was already sitting on the couch playing with his IPhone. He clearly looked like he wasn't in the mood to socialize. It was weird seeing Kofi like that, since he was always a laid back happy guy. Today it was the other way round. He looked like he could kill anyone who just looked at him funny, and Punk didn't want to be that guy tonight.

"I'm so glad you could make it." AJ said as she went to the fridge and got out a tray full of small cupcakes covered in white chocolate. "I had to keep these in the fridge so the chocolate wouldn't melt. I can't believe how hot it is today."

AJ kept bustling around the kitchen, and Punk found himself isolated in the middle of a kitchen, not knowing what to do with himself. AJ on the other hand, kept herself busy by doing all the things she didn't want to do. She really wasn't prepared to face Punk, and therefore did her best to keep having small talk instead of having a real conversation. Initially, she was ecstatic that he was actually going to be there, but she had forgotten to think about what to do and what to say when he'd get there. She hated herself for it.

"AJ, I got you something. I don't know where to put it though." He lied as he lifted his present up to show AJ.

She took her eyes from the cupcakes and looked up at Punk. She didn't even realize he was holding a gift the whole time. She felt embarrassed. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I got so caught up in everything. Punk, you really shouldn't have."

"Nah, I want you to have it. When I saw it, I immediately thought that it would be the right present for you. Here, open it." He handed her the present from over the counter, and she slowly took it. "I think you'll like it as much as I do." He gave her a warm smile.

"But I haven't opened the other presents yet…" She remembered. She never thought that people would actually buy gifts for a house warming party, but she wasn't complaining. She still had a lot of things to buy to make her house a home. She had made a list, and she had hoped that she would cross out a couple of things off it after the party was over.

"Open it. It will be our little secret." He winked at her and shoved his hands in his pockets.

She smiled and looked down at the present. "Don't tell anyone then." She quietly whispered and started to unwrap the present. "Oh my…" She exclaimed, as she took out the ornament from its original box and lifted it up. "It's so pretty, Punk. I love it! Thank you so much!" She immediately walked around the counter to wrap her hands around his neck for a hug. The hug only lasted for a brief second but it gave her just enough time to realize how good he actually smelled.

"I'm glad you like it." Punk smiled at an overjoyed AJ Lee as she looked at her present again to observe all the little details. It had been such a long time since he made AJ smile, and he couldn't help but admire her facial features. She looked genuinely happy, he could even tell just by looking into her eyes, and he was glad to see her like that. "You look great AJ. You really do." He blurted out of nowhere. For a moment there, he was worried that he had crossed the line, but he waited for AJ's reaction before he could start apologizing.

She was caught a bit off guard, but she thought that she shouldn't make a big deal out of nothing. He was simply complimenting her, and she was thankful that they were on the same page again after God knows how long. She looked up to meet Punk's green eyes, and just smiled. "Thanks a lot Punk. I really appreciate that. And thank you for coming to my party. Believe it or not, you don't know how much it means to me even though sometimes I just want to push you off a cliff."

"Oh AJ, that just warms my heart!" Punk chuckled as he placed his hand on his chest.

They both shared a laugh and thought about how much they had been through over the past year, in and out of the ring, yet none of them wanted to comment about it. She had finally accepted the fact that no matter what she did in life, she was never going to get rid of Punk and that in some way or another, he was always going to be there for her and she was somehow comfortable with that.

"I know just the right place to hang this thing up." She changed the subject before things could become weird and difficult, and she did her best to avoid being awkward with CM Punk.

Later that night, the guests that had showed up were slowly going home one by one, until Kaitlyn, Dolph, Punk and Kofi were the only four remaining. AJ was getting quieter by the minute, and whenever anyone asked her what was wrong, she only claimed that she was getting tired. Half of it was true, the other half was to get people to stop asking her the same question over and over again.

She peered outside the window next to the front door for the tenth time, but Dean's car wasn't there. She knew that he had informed her that he might be coming late but her wrist watch was telling her that it was close to midnight and she was sure that he was not going to show up anytime soon by then.

"I'm sorry dear." She heard Kaitlyn say from behind her. She had noticed her best friend going in and out of the living room to check for any signs of Dean, to come back in with a disappointed look on her face. She didn't want to tell her anything at first, that would have made AJ even more upset, but she just couldn't bear to see her coming back in with that look on her face over and over again.

"What?" AJ did her best to act as if there was nothing bothering her, but the truth was Dean bailing out on her was eating her alive. She accepted the fact that he was not obligated to come since he wasn't her boyfriend anymore, but she didn't think that he would miss her party.

"I know that you have been waiting for Dean to show up since 10 o'clock. I don't think he's coming, AJ." She went over to give AJ a comforting hug and AJ didn't say a word, but instead she let harsh reality sink in. Dean wasn't coming.

"Out of all people, I thought he'd be the only one who'd definitely show up. I mean," and AJ held herself from crying. No man was worth her tears, but damn she felt like crying on the floor for hours at that moment.

"Don't bring yourself down for a man. Especially Dean, and the way he had treated you. There are people in the kitchen who love you, AJ. That's your family, as much as you want to kill Punk sometimes. You know what, AJ. Think about this," Kaitlyn explained as she stroked AJ's back, "Punk is in there right now, while the man who supposedly truly loved you, didn't even dare to show up for one single minute."

AJ knew that Kaitlyn was never fond of Dean, and she must have been over the moon when she realized that Dean was going to be a no show that night. She also tried to paint CM Punk in a pretty little picture, but the fact of the matter was that she was right. Punk had come, despite all of their history they shared together. She had actually enjoyed the time she spent talking to Punk about nothing in particular, which was 90% of the time. (The remaining 10% was spent greeting the other guests, and getting more refreshments from the kitchen.)

"I guess Dean and I are really over then." She shrugged her shoulders in defeat. It wasn't bothering her as much as it should have been, but she was still upset about it. She inhaled deeply, and exhaled. "I don't want to cry, I don't want to cry!" She shook her fingers in front of her face, as she looked up at the ceiling trying to dry her eyes.

"You don't have to, my dear. Let's go back where the others are." AJ Lee reluctantly nodded, and did her best to man up so none of the boys would notice anything.

When they entered the living room, AJ immediately caught Kofi dozing off on the couch and drooling all over his hand. Punk was watching him, and he both gave them a weak smile at the sight of Kaitlyn and AJ. "There's no point in waking him up, he's already knocked out."

AJ could hear Ziggler doing the dishes in the kitchen, as she could hear the 'clinking' of the plates, when he tried to set them up neatly next to the sink to dry. Without a word, Kaitlyn went to help him clean up. "It's alright; it's getting late anyways so I don't blame him. If you guys want to crash here, by all means, it's not a problem for me." She offered, even though she wasn't in the mood for guests during the night. She wanted to go to bed.

"Nah it's okay. Tomorrow I need to be at the gym at 7am, and I better go and try to get a goodnight sleep, if that's even possible. I'll just carry Kofi here, over to the car." He looked over to Kofi, who was still in dreamland, not aware of anything that was happening around him.

"As you wish, the offer still stands." AJ added, and she watched Punk get up from the couch and took one good look at Kofi, "I am so not in the mood to carry a full grown ass adult right now." He rubbed his stubble and ran his tongue over his lip ring. Even he felt tired, and he was hoping he'd start lifting weights by tomorrow and not right that moment. "AJ, here take my car keys and go open the back door of that red rental car out there. I can't carry Kofi and open the car at the same time."

"Sure thing." As Punk tossed AJ his car keys, she quickly sped off out of the house to open the car door for Punk. Luckily enough, it was the only red car parked outside that was near her house, and she breathed a sigh of relief when the lock turned. She didn't want to open somebody else's car by mistake.

As Punk struggled to get Kofi into the back seat safely without hitting his head along the way, Kofi was finally fast asleep like a little baby after a series of attempts. "Jesus I forgot how heavy that man can be." Punk commented after closing the car door and turning to AJ. He wiped the little sweat he had on his forehead.

AJ smiled and pushed some of her hair behind her ear. "I know I've said it like a million times now Punk, but really, thanks a lot for coming. It meant a lot to me." She smiled up to those green eyes of his and he immediately returned a big smile of his own.

"Anything for you AJ." And without any hesitation he immediately wrapped his tattooed hands around her tiny frame and gave her a long lasting hug. He put one of his hands on her head and started to stroke her hair. He could feel her smile on his chest, as he gently placed a small kiss on the top of her head. "If you ever feel alone, or disoriented in your new home or something AJ, call me. No matter where I am, I will always try to be there for you, okay?" He looked down at his former lover and she looked up to him and slowly nodded.

She was glad that there was somebody in the world who truly loved her and cared for her. She knew Kaitlyn would do anything for her, but Punk would go to the end of the world just to see AJ smile and she finally felt happy with herself again.

Just at that moment, AJ saw two bright lights coming her way and she peeked from behind Punk to see a car slowing down and parking right on the opposite of the street. Punk looked over and could immediately see that it was Dean Ambrose sitting in the driver's seat, looking none too happy that he caught his ex girlfriend in the arms of her other ex.

AJ had trouble trying to distinguish who the person in the car was, since her vision was getting kind of blurry. (She had removed her contacts because they were tiring her eyes during the party.) She didn't have her glasses on, but the car seemed oddly familiar.

"Oh shit." AJ finally mumbled under her breath, as she let go of Punk and stood there motionless looking at the figure who resembled her last boyfriend. She knew it was him.

Punk felt lost again. Should he go and let them talk alone? Should he stay there to protect her? What if he was drunk? The party was over, and he was way too late. The nerve he had to show up at this hour.

She gulped and quickly turned to Punk again, "Um, Punk, I think you should go now. Thanks again for everything."

"Are you sure, AJ? I mean I don't really trust the guy. "He said as he looked at Dean who was still sitting in his car looking straight ahead. He wasn't moving, and he didn't even dare to look at Punk. He almost felt disgusted that he caught AJ in the act. He bit his bottom lip to control himself and his train of thought. He didn't want to over think it too much, but hell he couldn't help it.

"Go Punk. I don't want to have another fight, especially at this hour. Go, please." She slowly pushed Punk and encouraged him to leave. She remembered the fight Punk had with Daniel in front of the diva's locker room, and she didn't want to replace Daniel with Dean now. She had enough of the fighting.

Without any choice, Punk respected her wish and got in the car. "Look, you call or text me before you go to bed. I don't want anything bad to happen to you, okay? And don't let anyone bring you down, are you listening to me?" She nodded and reassured him again. He gave AJ one last look before he unwillingly started the car and slowly drove off with Kofi still fast asleep in the back. He watched Dean get out of his car and walk right in AJ's direction from his rear view mirror. He was already worried sick about her, and he was just there less than a minute ago.

"Sorry I'm late." Dean managed to control his temper, even though he was dying to light a cigarette up. He knew how much she hated it so he had to control his fingers which were itching to reach for his packet of Marlboro that was in his left back pocket.

"That's it? Dean it's almost 1 in the morning, you're about 6 hours late!" She threw her hands in the air in frustration and looked right into Dean's eyes. She didn't want to distract herself by looking at his leather jacket and how good he looked in it. He smelled like a cigarette factory and luckily enough, it was cancelling out anything that looked remotely good on him.

"I told you I would be running late. I didn't know that it was going to take me that long, but guess Punk took great care in being good company tonight." He couldn't hold himself from not commenting on what he saw.

"At least Punk showed up on time, and don't you dare go there. Last time I checked we were not together, you do not have a say on the people I choose to hang out with." She was having none of his bullshit especially at that hour.

"Sorry my dear, last time I checked we were on a break. There is a difference, and don't you worry one bit, I could see that you've been hanging out with CM Punk alright." He ran his hands through his golden brown hair, instantly regretting his decision to come. He hated himself for it. He was better off not coming in the first place.

"I will not be having this conversation with you right now. I can't fucking believe you, Dean. It's like you literally have an on and off switch. You were the best boyfriend I have ever had, and now, I don't even know who or what you are anymore." She looked at him in disgust as she crossed her arms on her chest.

Dean gave her an unfriendly smile, and shook his head at AJ. He took a long pause, trying to calm himself down. "I loved you AJ, I gave you my all, my everything, and you never even returned half of it back. Why would I continue to show you and give you my love if you always wished it was coming from somebody else, huh?" For the very first time, Dean's facial expressions had changed. He wasn't angry anymore, he was heartbroken.

He was glad that it was 1 in the morning, and everyone seemed to have gone to bed that night. He didn't want to attract an audience at this hour.

AJ sighed and looked up to the stars. He had hit her right in her weakest spot. How could she fight back and defend herself, when he was telling the truth? It's not like he was making anything up. She was definitely aware of the fact that she had never attempted to love Dean, as much as she wanted to, she had never gave him her all. She just couldn't give him the love that she gave to Punk.

She looked at him and she bit her lip. She couldn't help the tears stop from rolling down her cheeks, and that's where Dean realized that she was admitting to his long time accusation. "I could stand and argue here all night AJ, but I'm tired of this bullshit. I am not mad, don't get me wrong. I am more disappointed at the fact that Punk got to your heart before I did. I hope you had a nice house warming party." And he walked over to his car and got the gift he planned on giving her. "I hope you get whatever your heart desires. Goodbye, AJ." He handed over a pink wrapped box, and gave her a small kiss on her lips. He wanted to taste her for the last time, even though they were all covered in salty tears. He didn't care.

She watched him as he walked back to the car, and got in. She could see him tearing up, and within seconds he was out of sight. She finally let everything out and she sank down to her knees crying her eyes out. She looked at the present and how it was neatly wrapped, and she cried even more.

She felt a pair of hands wrap around her shoulders from behind and she instantly realized that it was Kaitlyn. "Shhh, come here. Sorry I had to watch from the inside, but you had me worried. Come on, it going to be alright." She said as she started to rock AJ back and forth, stroking her hair. AJ finally broke down, and let everything that was bottled up all out on that curb.