Well everyone...Firebird here with the new chapter, and boy, is it a doozy. Much like Money In The Bank and everything that happened there, this chapter too has a lot going on and I made sure, absolutely sure, that everything was perfect and presentable to everyone, and hopefully it shows when you all read it. Once more, I cannot thank you all enough for taking the time to read and review and favorite this story. It means the world to me and Foxie, and we really do appreciate everything. Like I said, it's only going to get better from here on out. This isn't the end...this is just the beginning. Everything from here will lead to what everyone I'm sure affectionately remembers as 'The Summer of AJ'. It's just our little twist on it. I hope you all enjoy the chapter and the ride it will take you on. I know I had a lot of fun writing it. And the songs used...well, everyone should know those songs, right? ;)
Nick stopped himself short of fully completing the deed, his conquest having been cut short...did she really say that fucking asshole's name when he was about to take her and make her his own? He had to have been dreaming that. His jeans were past his hips, halfway down his legs, his erection in plain sight as he watched her horrified eyes dart back and forth, all over the place, anywhere except on him. This was unbelievable.
"April...what did you say?", he asked her as calmly and evenly as he could without blowing up.
She fumbled around with her words, scared to death of what he was going to do. This was the second time she could remember doing this, uttering Phil's name while in Nick's presence...except this time, here she was, naked and underneath him, waiting for him to take her so she could prove a point to the straight edged dark knight of her dreams...and she was saying Phil's name like it was nothing. She wanted to crawl under a rock and stay there if she could.
"April", Nick said stiffly. He had already begun the process of re-dressing himself, tightening his belt, his shirt in his hand as he got up off the bed and watched as she scrambled to cover herself with the sheets. "What did you say?", he asked again, anger rising in his voice.
"I..I'm sorry, Nick...it..it slipped...", she replied weakly as she made eye contact with him, a tear glimmering in her eye as Nick shook his head in disgust and muttered something under his breath to himself. She watched as he threw his shirt back on and began to back up toward the door. "Nick...please don't...", she whispered, practically begging him to not abandon her.
Shaking his head some more, Nick sighed and opened the door, stopping only to give a parting message to her. "Listen, April...I think I'm gonna head on out, it's getting pretty late. Oh, and uh, don't call me. I'll call you."
Watching as Nick closed the door behind him, April began to cry, burying her head in her hands as she cursed Phil's existence. She tried making her point and now it had blown up in her face, just like Bryan had warned her it would, because she couldn't stop thinking about the man...god damn it, she thought, she was more madly in love with him than ever before, if that was even possible, or if it even made sense...and the worst part of it all was that Phil didn't even care. He made that abundantly clear when he paid her no mind to her little stunt with Nick earlier. This was all too much for her to take.
Blindly reaching across her body to the desk next to the bed, she grabbed her phone and began to dial a familiar number. One call would be all it would take...and everything, she hoped and prayed, would be better...
11 - 20 - 11
2:18 PM
"I can't believe you're actually doing this..."
"You didn't have to come along, you know."
"You forced me to come here, asshole. Remember that?"
"Just shut up. This needs to be done. I need answers."
"No, what you need is therapy and sedatives."
Phil glared at Colt as the two of them made their way up the set of steps to the modest looking home located in the suburbs of downtown Union City. The idea for this had came one night, a few days after the incident at the restaurant, to him as he was sitting at home, talking with Amy about what it was like having to babysit eight year old AJ way back when. He told her about how she was suddenly just ripped from him without so much as a warning...and it got him thinking. It made him angry. Angrier than he had been that night. How could her mother just take April away like that? A large part of him wanted to place the blame for this whole crazy, fucked up mess on her. This wasn't a friendly visit to catch up and reminisce...he was looking for blood. He was doing his best to try and not care about AJ's actions...but this, this couldn't be ignored.
"Phil, come on man, we shouldn't be doing this...this is her mother, for fuck's sake..."
"I don't care if she's the goddamn President or the next coming of Mother Theresa...she tore us apart without a care in the world, and I'm going to find out why, through hell or high water. You can wait in the car if you fucking want to, Colt, I won't hold it against you."
Colt stopped and gave serious thought to the idea for a moment, before reluctantly deciding against it, following Phil to the front door, where he knocked on it with force and determination. Nothing. So he knocked again, three times, like he wanted to break it off it's hinges. Muffled voices could be heard, along with the shuffling of feet in their direction, and Colt could have swore he heard...nah, he was imagining it. Soon enough, the door swung open to reveal Mrs. Mendez, looking older, but not that much older, than she had when they had last seen her fifteen years ago. Age had obviously been kind to the elder Puerto Rican woman. Anyone with half a brain could see where April had gotten her looks.
"Hello? Can I help you, young men?", she asked as she stood in the doorway, her glasses pushed up onto her forehead as she got a good look at them. She didn't quite recognize the slightly shorter one with the frizzy brown hair and the muscular build...but the other one, with the tattoos all over his arms and hands, his long, dark brown hair slicked back and wearing a beard that looked like it hadn't been taken care of in months...there was something about him she couldn't quite place her finger on. He looked like someone she used to know...
Phil's eyes narrowed and his lips pursed together in a thin, straight line. "You don't recognize me, do you", he stated through gritted teeth. When she didn't immediately respond, he rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath about how it was a damn shame. "I'm not surprised that you don't. After all, the last time you saw me, I was a scrawny punk rock kid from Chicago. But that was fifteen years ago...", he said, putting emphasis on the years mentioned, hoping to jog her memory.
It was as if a lightbulb went off in Mrs. Mendez's head. "I used to live in Chicago a long time ago...", she said, getting a better look at the tattoos adorning the man's arms. She knew where she had seen them before. "Phillip?", she gasped, the realization settling in. "Colt?"
Colt meekly waved while Phil stood there, his hands balled up into fists and breathing fire. Murder was on his mind and all he saw was red right now. This woman was responsible for causing so much pain between himself and her daughter. She's what started the whole thing. So many thoughts were racing through Phil's mind as he glared at the older woman, he didn't know what to say. A large part of him wanted to rip her a new asshole and make her feel how he did when April was taken from him. But he settled for one simple, yet loaded question.
"Why?"
Mrs. Mendez shook her head and took a step back, ready to retreat into her home and avoid this confrontation with the man who had shattered her daughter's heart. "You have a lot of nerve showing up here like this, especially after what you did to April", the elder woman whispered harshly. She went to slam the door shut in their faces and figured she'd be done with it, but when she saw Phil's hand stop the door from doing so, forcing his way into her home, she knew she had a big issue on her hands.
As Colt followed his psychotic best friend into the house, he saw something...rather, someone, out of the corner of his eye, scurrying up the steps, hearing a door close. Was AJ actually here? This whole thing had the potential to go from bad to worse if she really was and Phil saw her...he had to do something to quell the raging fire that was about to spread. He knew all about what AJ had done that night with Nick, how she had just so openly flaunted her bleached blonde headed piece of rebound ass in front of Phil's face without a care about his feelings and how it would kill him on the inside...if Phil caught wind of her potentially being here, all bets would be off.
It'd be war.
"I've got nerve? You hear this, Colt? The lady says I have nerve", Phil mockingly stated as he ventured further into the house, hot on Mrs. Mendez's trail. "I guess your precious little girl failed to mention what she just did to me", he stated venomously, stopping in the kitchen as the elder Mendez turned on her heel to face the two men. "And I'm not the one with the nerve around here."
"Oh, really, Phillip? Or do you want me to call you Punk? Because quite frankly, that's all you are and ever will be", Mrs. Mendez shot back, willing to go tit-for-tat with him if she needed to. She couldn't believe the gall of this man, how abrasive and brash he was. She couldn't ever remember him being like this when he was a teenager. April had told her how much he had changed, but still... "I suggest you and your little friend here leave before I call the cops."
Colt looked to Phil and pleaded with him silently to take the advice given to them and head out. They had already gone far enough, any further and they'd be in some real deep shit. But Phil shook his head and turned back to face April's mother. This wasn't over, not by a long shot. Hell, they were just getting started.
"How could you just take her away from me like that? How could you just crush your own daughter's hopes and dreams the way you did? You had a perfectly fucking fine life back in Chicago! You took her away from me for thirteen years!", he yelled, his hands shaking with rage as he took another step forward, shrugging Colt's hand off of his shoulder. "Thirteen years god damn you! Do you have any idea at all what that did to me and her?!"
Mrs. Mendez stopped in the middle of the kitchen and turned to face the two Chicago born grapplers. Her face showed no emotion and her body was stiff. Closing her eyes and hanging her head low, she brought it back up to look Phil dead in the eye, a distant look in her eyes as she blinked. "What are you trying to say, Phillip?", she asked cooly.
"I'm not trying to say anything. What I am saying is that what's happened between me and your daughter...every single thing...it's all on you."
Something looked off in Mrs. Mendez's eyes, Colt knew it right away just by glancing at her. Phil didn't seem to notice or care, or both perhaps, he was just focussed on bringing the poor woman to her knees if he could. She remained silent as Phil began to rip into her again.
"What was your reasoning behind leaving Chicago, huh? What, did you think you were too good for my hometown? Didn't want your baby girl growing up seeing things she probably saw here living in New Jersey? What was it? Tell me, what the fuck was your excuse for dragging your daughter out of a life she was finally beginning to enjoy? TELL ME!", he finally said, finishing his rant, his breathing heavy. Colt could hear his best friend's heart thumping against his ribs like a drum, the adrenaline coursing through his veins, his face flushed red with damn near fifteen years of built up anger. Colt sincerely hoped that if AJ was here, she didn't hear all of this...this was the kind of argument that could traumatize someone for life.
The elder woman took a deep breath and exhaled, pulling her glasses back down to cover her eyes. Brushing some of her wavy brown hair out of the way, she took a seat down at the kitchen table, her hand on her cheek as she appeared to be deep in thought, about what, they didn't know. After a few minutes of uneasy silence, she looked up to them and motioned for them to join her at the table, which they did, Colt sitting at the end and Phil sitting directly across from her. His moss colored eyes were filled with a thousand fires as he waited for her to say something, anything. He just wanted another excuse to scream at her again.
"Do you really want to know why I took April out of Chicago and moved her here?", she asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. Colt closed his eyes and began to brace himself for yet another shit storm that was surely on the immediate horizon. Phil's eyes narrowed. Finally, he thought to himself, he was getting what he came here for. Answers. He nodded his head expectantly, his fingers beginning to break the skin of his palms. He knew he wasn't going to like what April's mother had to say, but he was prepared for the worst. But even he wasn't expecting what she actually had to say.
"I took April out of Chicago for a variety of reasons, Phillip", she murmured, making eye contact with him and Colt, who looked like he was wishing he was anywhere but Union City at that moment. "Chief among them was the fact that I was offered a job that I absolutely could not refuse...and it required me to move here. I've been living a far more comfortable life now than I was all those years ago, and April benefited from that."
Before Phil could interrupt her, she kept going. "But that's not the only reason. I saw how my baby girl would light up whenever you would come around...you were her entire world when she was a child. You still are, even after what you did to her. At first, I thought it was adorable how she took up after you...she never liked any of her previous babysitters, so it was nice that she liked you. But then it got to be too much..."
"The fuck do you mean, 'it got to be too much' ?", Phil cut in harshly.
"She would never stop talking about you...always telling me how great you were, how much fun you were to hang out with...how much she loved you", she said somewhat bitterly as she took a moment to take a deep breath. "I had to do something about it. I almost didn't take that job because I didn't want to uproot April's life all over again...but once I found out that you were teaching her how to wrestle...that dirty, horrible sport that she calls a living...my mind was made for me."
Phil swallowed hard, trying his best to keep an angry look on his face. Her next words, though, were as big a blow to his heart as seeing April kissing Nick was.
"I took my daughter out of Chicago because of you."
11 - 20 - 11
5:57 PM
The two of them argued with each other for a little while longer, till neither of them had the energy or the heart to continue any further. Phil was in shambles emotionally by the time Colt dragged him out of the Mendez house, and the matriarch of the family wasn't fairing any better.
Watching them leave and slamming the door shut without having to worry about them barging back in, Mrs. Mendez slumped up against the door, drained from the argument she had just taken part in. She hadn't realized just how strongly Phil felt about her daughter, regardless of how he had broken her heart. He loved her little April to the point of absurdity. But it was over and done with. Turning around to walk up the steps to her room, she stopped cold when she saw April standing at the top of them.
Her daughter was crying. She looked like she had been for a while now. How could she have forgotten that her baby girl was in the house the entire time? If she wasn't already broken up from verbally sparring with Phillip, she certainly was now at the sight of her crying daughter.
"Is..is it..true?", April managed to choke out as she wiped away a tear with her sleeve.
"Oh baby...I'm so sorry you had to hear all of that...", Mrs. Mendez said before her daughter took off toward her room, the sound of the door slamming echoing throughout the house.
She had nobody to blame but herself.
1 - 15 - 12
3:42 PM
Phil was just starting to try and fall asleep. That very thing had been escaping him for quite some time now, and he looked worse than he had before he left the company. Where as before, the over/under on the amount of sleep he would usually get was three and a half hours, now, he was barely getting an hour's worth. The fight with April's mother was still a fresh wound to him. It consumed him, and it showed. All he wanted to do was sleep...he was going to give it a try right now.
Right as his eyes began to close, he felt something heavy crash down on his stomach, instantly snapping him awake and pissing him off all at the same time. Looking up, he saw Amy's hazelnut eyes looking back down at him as he glared at her, a look of death on his face as he then turned his attention back to the items resting on his lap.
"What the hell is this stuff?", he asked irritably.
"Those, you tool, are pens and a notebook", she responded simply. "Since you don't feel like talking to anyone about anything anymore, I figured I'd help you do something productive again."
"What are you talking about? I talk to you about everything", Phil lied through his teeth. He really didn't feel like dealing with any of this right now...
Amy scoffed and did her best to not burst out in a giggle fit. She forgot how delusional he could be sometimes. "No, you don't. You haven't spoken to anyone about that incident at AJ's house since it happened, and that was almost two months ago in November. It's January. It's a new year, for God's sake. So do me a favor, get up off your ass and do something productive."
Phil went to protest some more, but Amy, sensing that he was about to fire off a smart ass remark to her, nipped it in the bud before he could even say it. "You know I'm telling the truth, Phil. You don't speak to me, Colt, Chez, your sisters, Luke, your parents...you've put up your walls and cut us all off. So again, please, do me the favor and write in the notebook. If you won't talk about it, then at least write about it. You can't keep living like this, keeping everything bottled up inside...it's killing you, whether you want to admit it or not."
He had nothing for that. For the first time in a while, he was rendered speechless. Amy quietly slipped away while he looked at the pack of pens and the plain, black notebook she had given him to aid in his venting. What was he gonna do with this? He didn't write stuff down in a notebook, certainly not his inner most thoughts...but then he thought back to the promises he had written to April in her diary. He couldn't go back on them...he had been making such progress too, before that incident with her mother...there were so many things he could get out without actually having to talk to anyone...one thing stood out most.
He looked at the calendar on his phone and his eyes immediately fell to the 29th, the last Sunday of the month. Shaking his head, he looked to the kitchen, where he figured Amy was, and called out to her. "Amy! I have a question for you!"
"What?", she asked, walking back into the living room, hopeful that he'd already begun to take her advice.
"Where did they say the Royal Rumble was going to be this year?"
Amy's shoulders slumped and she hung her head. Of course he'd ask about something as asinine as that. Why did he care about where it was? Everyone knew he wasn't going back to the company until he felt like it...and with each day that passed, the likelihood of that happening dwindled a little bit more. It was just a dumb question of him to ask her, really.
"It's here, in Chicago. Allstate Arena. Our backyard."
The gears began to turn in Phil's head as he nodded and silently thanked her for her answer. Looking back and forth between the pens and the notebook, he ripped open the package and grabbed one of the cool blue pens and flipped open to the first page of the notebook, putting the pen to paper.
Amy watched from her spot in the kitchen as he began writing feverishly, a tiny grin spreading across her red lips. At least that would keep him occupied for the time being while she slipped out and did something that she needed to do. Digging her phone out of her pocket, she dialed a number and waited for the other line to click. When it did, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Hey, it's me. Is everything okay? She's here? Good. Tell her you'll be there in ten minutes. I'm leaving now. Thanks again, Dragon."
1 - 15 - 12
4:09 PM
April groaned. It had been a long time since she had set foot in Chicago, and she couldn't believe she was here right now. But she had to suck it up and try her best to put on a brave face, seeing as the Royal Rumble was going to be happening at the very same place that she had her heart ripped out last July. She had to be there for Bryan. He had cashed in his Money In The Bank (oh how she still loathed hearing or saying those words) briefcase on Big Show last month at the TLC pay per view, and he was defending his title against Show and Mark Henry in a triple threat cage match at the Rumble. She wouldn't be able to accompany him to the ring, however, seeing as she was currently 'nursing' a neck injury sustained at the hands of Show when he accidentally trucked over her and sent her away on a stretcher during a match with Bryan. Her being hurt was the beginning of Bryan's heel turn, and he was thankful to be able to do that. He relished being booed.
Thankfully though, she didn't have to wear the cumbersome neck brace they had required her to wear to sell the injury at the moment. Daniel had arrived here a couple of days ago to do media to promote the event, and he had her flown in so they could do some of the rounds together, seeing as they were practically attached at the hip now. When he told her that the Rumble was going to be here, she damn near had a heart attack...it hurt to even think of Chicago. Of him. What he did to her...how he did it. She just wanted to fulfill her media obligations now, get through the Rumble in two weeks, then never come back here again.
Locating the small deli that Bryan had asked her to meet him at, she walked in and was immediately greeted by someone who she assumed was the owner...wearing one of Phil's shirts. Of course. She wanted to scream. But instead, she smiled tightly and followed the man to an open table where she was to wait for her running buddy. Grabbing her phone from her bag, she began to play around on it in silence, until she felt him sit down across from her.
"Hey, April. Thank you for coming here."
April's eyes snapped upward to find not Bryan, but Amy. A scowl formed across her face, and there was fire in her almond shaped eyes. She felt like jumping across the table and tearing the red head to pieces. But she couldn't...she wouldn't. She wasn't like that.
"What are you doing here?", she asked bitterly as she shoved her phone back into her bag, her tiny little hands balling up into fists.
"Before you decide on which way to kill me, please, April, hear me out", Amy pleaded as she looked around to make sure that nobody would disturb them. When the coast was clear, she turned her attention back to April, who looked like she was ready to beat the shit out of her or cry, or both. Part of her wanted to hug the poor girl so much right now. But that would have to wait till later. "I'm gonna cut to the chase...there's nothing going on between me and Phil, I promise you that."
April didn't want to hear any of her lies. "Then why did you move in with him, huh?", she asked angrily, her body beginning to shake. "You did it like it was nothing, too! I know all about what you and him had when you were together...you just couldn't wait for me to be out of the picture to do that, could you? Did you plan this? Tell him to leave the company so you two could start a new life together!?"
Amy could tell that the poor girl was on the verge of breaking down. "Do...do you have any idea what him leaving...did to me?"
That was it, she couldn't take anymore. Sitting up and moving her chair with her, she sat down next to April and latched her arms around her frail body, holding her close as she cried into her shoulder. Amy was going to rip Phil to shit once she got back home...if he only saw how she was up close...he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he was a witness to this.
Stroking April's long, mahogany locks and letting her cry as much as she needed to, Amy rocked their bodies back and forth. "Shh...it's okay, baby girl. I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you. I'm not going anywhere, okay? You say the word and I'm there."
'Why is she doing this?', April asked herself as she wriggled out of Amy's grasp and used her sleeve to wipe away the tears and her nose. She took a look at the copper headed legendary Diva and shook her head. Here was this woman, someone she grew up idolizing, trying her damnedest to make her feel better. She couldn't believe it. "If there's nothing going on between you two...then why are you living with him?", she asked quietly, almost whispering.
"I bought a place on the south side...a few blocks from his place, actually", she began to explain. "It needed...still needs, five months later, a ton of remodeling and other work done on it. So I figured, 'Hey, Phil lives a few blocks away from here, why not shack up with him till my place is done?'. I didn't even think about how it would affect you...and for that, I am sorry in every imaginable way."
"So...so...nothing? You're just living with him out of convenience?"
Amy shook her head firmly, a ghost of a smile gracing her lips. "Yes I am, sweetie. That ship set sail a long, long time ago. He's like a little brother to me...we're too much alike. And besides...he loves you. Despite what he did, that fact hasn't changed. He's batshit crazy for you, little lady. And when he's ready to come back, he's going to make sure you know that."
The thought of him coming back gave April a glimmer of hope...but then she realized how he left, and what he left with. There was absolutely no way the higher ups would welcome him back with open arms, even if Vince was gone and Hunter was now in charge. He stole the WWE Title. Lawsuits were still being threatened. He single handedly got John and Vince fired. Most of the roster wanted to kill him on sight if he ever came back, Bryan, Eve and Kofi being the only ones besides herself that didn't harbor those feelings. There were so many things standing in his way...
"I know what you're thinking, April, and yes, it's unlikely that he'll come back soon or just be welcomed back like nothing happened...but you of all people should know that Phil doesn't care. He'll come back on his own terms, and not give a damn if everyone hates him."
She wanted to believe Amy's words, she really did. But her thoughts drifted back to that night with Nick...the heartbroken look in Phil's eyes when he saw her walk in with another man on her arm...making out with and groping him all in plain sight...the rage written on his face...she might as well have broken him that night. Then the argument he had with her mother...it was all too painful for her to think about again. So she wanted to think that he wouldn't care if he was hated when and if he returned...but she knew better.
He probably wanted nothing to do with her anymore.
1 - 22 - 12
4:30 AM
"Phil? What the fuck are you still doing up this late at night?"
He looked over his shoulder and saw Amy standing in the doorway to his bathroom, looking like an extra from the Walking Dead. No makeup, frizzy hair, heavy bags under her eyes and yawning every two seconds. He'd of laughed about it if he wasn't so deep in thought right now.
"I'm thinking about something, nothing serious. You know I don't sleep anyways."
She rolled her eyes at him and muttered something under her breath. "I already know the answer to the question I'm about to ask, but I'll ask anyways...is it something you want to talk about?"
Phil shook his head, causing Amy to curse under her breath, loud enough for him to hear. He badly wanted to be able to talk to her about what he was going to do, but he knew he had to play this close to the chest...nobody could know. Gee, where had he heard that one before...
"I should have figured as much", the copper headed ex-Diva whispered, more to herself. "Okay Phil, have it your way...if you wake me up again though, I'm going to kick your ass all over this house."
Nodding, he waited until she was down the hall and back in the guest room she had basically turned into her own, hearing the door click before he went back to staring at himself in the mirror. Looking to his right, he found himself staring at a few things he hadn't laid eyes on since that fateful night last July. To his left was the WWE Championship...his ultimate achievement. The calls about returning the title had simmered down, until last week. More lawsuits were threatened because the company needed it's crown jewel for WrestleMania season. He simply laughed them off. He had other plans.
Undoing the ponytail he had his hair in, he let it fall to his shoulders and marveled at how long it had become; it was the longest he had had it since his Straight Edge Society days...distant memories of the group dissolving and being April's pro on NXT raced through his mind and then quickly disappeared. His mind then became flooded with more memories of all the times, good and bad, that he had shared with her...from babysitting her, to watching her leave, to sharing those intimate moments, to leaving her...and then he found himself thinking of his Ring Of Honor days. How it shaped him into the wrestler and man he was now...how he always wondered, when they were in New Jersey, if she was in the crowd, watching him from the shadows...
Grabbing some tin foil and the bottle of Clairol in front of him, he went to work on his hair.
An hour or so later, he finally dared to look himself in the mirror...and for the first time in a while, he liked the person that was staring back at him. Step one was complete. And he was just getting started.
1 - 22 - 12
12:30 PM
Amy woke up to silence. Padding down the steps and into the kitchen, she opened the blinds and let the sun shine through into the room, illuminating it. Yawning and stretching her limbs, she gave her head a shake and went about her business normally. That is, until she noticed a small note on the kitchen counter, addressed to her in Phil's handwriting.
Unfolding the note, she began to read it...her eyes grew as she ran back upstairs and into his room, tearing it apart. Nothing. His suitcase was gone and most of his drawers were emptied out too. She did find one thing, however, that gave her pause as she took it from its position atop the dresser and held it in her hand.
It was a Harley Quinn action figure, old and discolored a bit, but other than that, it was in fairly good shape. She examined it and, on the bottom of the figure's foot, she saw the initials scrawled into it...it belonged to April. She had given it to him, from the looks of it, a long time ago. Why had he left this behind though? What did it mean?
Sitting on the edge of his vacant bed, Amy re-read his note to her once more. She had no idea what to think of it. She had to hope he had a good reason for all of this. Dropping the note on the bed, she walked back into her own room and remained there...she needed to think about all of this.
"Hey Ames. I'm going to get to the point here. I'm leaving for the week. The house is all yours. Don't try and contact me, I won't respond back. I need to do this for my own good. Here's hoping this crazy ass plan of mine works out. I'll see you next Sunday."
"I'll see you next Sunday...what the hell do you mean by that, Phil? What are you up to?", she asked herself as she lay there in her bed, the Harley Quinn figure still in her hands, staring at the ceiling. And then it hit her like a sack of bricks. She looked at the calendar on her phone, at next Sunday's date, then the action figure in her hand. Her eyes widened. She couldn't believe it. She had to call Colt...call everyone, and tell them the news.
"No. Fucking. Way."
1 - 29 - 12
8:10 PM
"The level of anticipation for tonight is at an all time high, folks, as we welcome you to the twenty fifth anniversary of the Royal Rumble! On top of Daniel Bryan defending his World Heavyweight Championship inside a steel cage against not one, but two behemoths in the Big Show and Mark Henry, we have the annual Royal Rumble match...and for the second time in the history of the match, the WWE Championship will be on the line!"
April listened to Cole's commentary, the raucous Chicago crowd nearly drowning him out as she sat in Bryan's dressing room, watching him prepare for his title defense later on in the evening. She knew Chicago crowds to be crazy and insane and passionate but...there was something different about tonight. She couldn't place her finger on it. There was something in the air. Cole's next bit on commentary confirmed her suspicions.
"There are many rumors going around the WWE that tonight, there is not one, but TWO huge surprise entrants set to return tonight in the Royal Rumble match...can you believe it, you guys?"
"Do you have any idea who they've got returning for the Rumble tonight?", she asked Bryan, looking from the television to him as he began to apply his wrist tape. She figured he had to have some inkling of an idea as to what the higher ups were planning, seeing as he was one of their top champions now.
He grinned and shook his head. "Just because I'm the World Heavyweight Champion doesn't mean I'm privy to everything Hunter and them discuss. The only thing I've heard, really, is that these two returns are practically 'earth shattering' ", he said, using air quotations. "Besides, it's a surprise. Don't you want to be as shocked as everyone else is going to be?"
"What do you mean by that?", she asked quizzically.
"Nobody but Hunter and a select few on the creative team know what's going to happen. Everyone else has been kept in the dark about it...they're really keeping this under wraps. They want to shock the world", he said, throwing his shirt on and taking a seat next to her.
A thought suddenly crossed April's mind. A far away look developed in her mind, and she could feel the gears whirring to life and going into overdrive. "You don't think..."
Bryan placed his hand on her wrist, stopping her, shaking his head gently. He had to let her down easy. "Sweetie, I already know what you're going to say...and I don't think that's going to happen tonight, even if we're in his backyard. My answer is no."
April shook her head clear of the thought and nodded. He was right...there was no way. She heard about the new, most recent threats of lawsuits and how the company wanted to bleed him dry and all of that legal mumbo jumbo she didn't really care for. Yeah, Bryan was right on this one. He wouldn't steer her wrong, especially when it came to something as delicate as this.
"Yeah...I'm sorry. I don't know why I even thought that. I guess I gave him too much credit, huh?", she asked rhetorically and sardonically.
He could see where this was going, and decided to stop it before it got worse. "AJ, he loves you. You know he does, okay?"
She laughed bitterly at her running buddy's statement. "If he loved me as much as you, Kofi, Eve and Amy tell me he does, he would have never left in the first place."
Bryan didn't want to press the issue any further. He knew they were both hurting after her crazy little stunt at the restaurant a couple of months ago. She had taken to thinking he wanted nothing to do with her anymore, and he thought the same thing. They both couldn't have been more wrong. But he bit down on his tongue and let it slide, opting to agree with her, albeit begrudgingly.
"I guess you're right."
1 - 29 - 12
9:45 PM
April waited patiently for Bryan to return so that the two of them could watch the Rumble match along with Eve, who waited with her. The two girls were huddled around the television when Bryan entered the room, covered in sweat, but still champion, the World Title hanging over his shoulder as he walked right into a hug and a kiss on the cheek from his 'girlfriend'. She was so happy for him, so glad that they kept the title on him. He was really coming into his own as a smarmy, overbearing, egotistical heel. He would proudly declare that being vegan meant he lived better than everyone (where had she heard that before?), all while screaming 'YES! YES! YES!' at the top of his lungs. And it was only getting started. She couldn't wait to return to television alongside him. She was a proud mama.
"Congrats on the win, champ", Eve said, giving him a hug of her own while he returned the gesture. "The fans really love chanting your new catchphrase with you."
Bryan shook his head and placed the World Title down on a chair nearby. "What, the 'yes' chants? Oh, it's never gonna catch on, just watch", he said humbly and modestly. He then grimaced as he slowly eased into his seat. "Damn, sometimes I forget how stiff Mark can be when he's amped up. He nailed me a few times real good."
April was right by his side, sitting down next to him. "Is there anything I can do to help? Get you some ice, maybe?", she asked while he shook his head.
"Nah, I'll be fine sweetie, don't worry. Nothing a good night's sleep won't cure", he responded, smiling and winking before his eyes drifted to the television. The Royal Rumble match was starting to begin. "Well, here we go."
Getting the hint, April turned to face the television right as Justin Roberts made the formal introductions and explained the rules. A few seconds later, the music of the Miz blared throughout the arena, boos raining down on him from every direction as the Chicago faithful tore into him. 'Number one...sucks to be him', she thought to herself as she watched him saunter to the ring, doing his best to ignore the massive jeers. A few seconds later, Alex Riley's music hit and he was met with barely anything as far as a reaction went as he slid into the ring.
The race to become the WWE Champion had commenced. The match was on.
Very little was said between the three of them as they intently watched. They all knew the ramifications from the end result of the match would affect them and everyone else in the company, from the very top to the bottom of the barrel. One by one, superstar after superstar entered, all of them wanting the chance to become the WWE Champion.
"I still don't understand what took them so long to crown a new champion", Eve commented out loud, though more so to herself, as none other than the Hardcore Legend, Mick Foley, entered the match at number seven, the entire arena shaking, the fans chanting "FOLEY! FOLEY!" to their hearts content.
"You know what took them so long", Bryan commented, noticing the far away look in AJ's eyes as he said it. "What I don't get is why they didn't just use a replica this whole time...or get a new title commissioned. It's been seven months..."
"Guys?", April piped in, getting their attention as Santino scampered into the ring at number nine. "Can we not talk about this, please?"
Both of them got the hint and shut up, the silence overtaking the room again, only to be ended when Kofi's music hit and he came out at number eleven and entered the ring a house on fire, the fans cheering for him while the three of them clapped and wished him well. A few minutes later, though, they could hear very loud rumblings going on outside of the room, and Bryan went to go investigate for a moment as they listened in on the commentary.
"Ladies and gentlemen, history is about to be made! One of the surprise entrants is going to be making his return right here, right now at number fifteen!", Cole exclaimed, acting for all the world like a teenager hopped up on Red Bull and Pop Rocks.
"As good ol' JR would say, business is about to pick up, folks!", Lawler yelled as the fans began to count down from ten.
Bryan re-entered the room, a shocked expression on his face as he sat down, his jaw hanging slightly as he watched the television, the building shaking as the fans counted down the last few numbers.
"Five, four, three, two, ONE!"
Everything came to a stop, the competitors in the ring turning their attention to the entrance ramp, waiting on whoever the hell it was that would be returning. Suddenly, a ton of fireworks and pyro went off, and then an all too familiar sound of various horns and trumpets filled the arena...the Chicago faithful began to boo like they had never booed before.
John was back.
The three of them sat there, in stunned silence, as the leader of the Cenation, bedecked in Celtics green and white, walked out onto the entrance ramp, smiling and looking into the camera, yelling that it was great to be back. The fans kept tearing into him, and everyone in the ring stood there with wide eyes. Bryan was right, April thought to herself. Nobody knew...he wasn't kidding when he said that Hunter and a few on the creative team knew. This was mind blowing.
"John Cena is back! You heard that right, everyone! JOHN CENA IS BACK IN THE WWE!", Lawler screamed as the boos kept coming in every direction.
"But this begs the question, King! If Cena was the first of the two big surprises, and he's coming in at number fifteen...who on Earth is the second surprise, and when will he be entering!?", Cole questioned as John peeled his shirt off and tore down the aisle, sliding into the ring and promptly eliminating Ezekiel Jackson and Jinder Mahal in short order. The crowd was still going...she couldn't ever remember a crowd being this electric, save for maybe last July...
Another body went flying over the top rope courtesy of John. Whoever this last entrant was, she didn't think they would beat John. He was on a mission.
For the next twenty five minutes, it was more of the same. John was tearing through everyone, save for a few moments here and there where he nearly got eliminated. Nick came in at number eighteen and looked like he was pissed beyond belief. They hadn't really spoken since that night a few months ago...he had been keeping his distance, and she deserved that. She tried to talk to him, but he would largely ignore her...it killed her knowing she pushed him away because of her damn feelings for that bastard. Nick deserved better than that.
Blinking at the screen, she saw that nobody but John was left in the ring, the fans that were booing him before now on his side after his amazing feat. He had eliminated ten people, one short of Kane's record. Peeking out the door, she saw Nick storm by, tossing things all over the place, acting out in rage. She sympathized with him to an extent. He was upset with not winning and probably still upset with her...there were better ways of going about dealing with his anger though.
"Ladies and gentleman, John Cena has eliminated ten superstars and is one man away from becoming, incredibly, the WWE Champion for the eleventh time, and on his first night back in the WWE, to boot!", Lawler said, the fans waiting with bated breath for number thirty. "This is unbelievable!"
"And how sweet would it be for Cena to experience the greatest moment of his life and his career in the same place of his downfall, the same place where he walked in champion and walked out unemployed? All he has to do is eliminate number thirty!", Cole then yelled into the headset.
"Well, this is it! Number thirty! The second of two big returns to the WWE!", said Lawler.
"Whoever it is, I'm confident to say, doesn't stand a chance! John Cena will not be stopped!", Cole exclaimed as the countdown to number thirty began.
"Who do you think it is?", Eve asked the two of them.
"I don't know...I'll be as surprised as you two will be", Bryan answered honestly.
"Ric Flair", April responded with a grin. They shared a quick laugh as the counter reached five.
"Five, four, three, two, ONE!"
It was go time.
The lights in the arena went out, including the ones backstage, leaving the three of them to wonder what the hell was going on. There was silence for but a few moments, before, very faintly, something could be heard. April didn't know quite what it was, but she knew she was hearing something. She then heard a loud knock, almost like a gavel hitting a really large sounding block. The gavel-like sound continued for a few more seconds before it was followed up with something industrial sounding, like it was from an underground punk club. The lights flickered along with the sound the song, or whatever it was, was making, the television coming back to life but the lights in the room still out.
Now it sounded futuristic, like it was taking them some place, followed up by a heavy drum beat that suddenly sounded way too familiar to her.
"Love your hate, your faith lost.
You are now one of us.
Love your hate, your faith lost.
You are now one of us."
Where had she heard that song and that drum beat before? Those lyrics sounded like something she used to know...she couldn't place her finger on it just yet. All she could tell was that the crowd was buzzing heavily while John looked around, bewildered as to what was happening.
"Nothing from nowhere, I'm no one at all.
Radiate, recognize one silent call.
As we all form one dark flame...INCINERATE!"
This was starting to annoy her now. She knew where she had heard this song before...why was it so hard for her to pinpoint where exactly? Eve looked just as confused as she did, while Bryan was eerily silent, a look of shock and astonishment on his face and in his eyes. That should have been her hint right there.
"Nothing from nowhere, I'm no one at all.
Radiate, recognize one silent call.
As we all form one dark flame.
As we all form ONE DARK FLAME.
As we all..."
It hit her like a semi truck when she looked at Bryan once again. She knew where she had heard it from...more importantly, though...she knew who it belonged to. Miseria Cantare, the Beginning. AFI. Ring Of Honor...no. It couldn't be. It just...couldn't be. There was no way. She didn't want to believe it, but Bryan's face gave it away. No way...
"Love your hate, your faith lost.
You are now one of us.
Love your hate, your faith lost.
You are now ONE OF US!"
On the jumbo tron, three giant, white x's appeared, and anyone with half a brain knew what three x's stood for. She felt like she knew better than anyone what they represented...the music had stopped but the lights were still off in the arena. Out of nowhere, a bevy of fireworks and pyro exploded and blasted all around the arena, on the ramp, on the stage, above the ring, which no doubt startled the shit out of John and everyone else in attendance, and after the smoke cleared, it was followed up by the sound of static and another all too familiar riffs of a guitar and a drum breakdown followed up with words that damn near shattered her psyche.
"Look in my eyes, what do you see?
The cult of personality."
Suddenly, all the lights came back on and at the top of the aisle...she couldn't believe her eyes or her ears.
There. Stood. Phil.
The entire building literally shook and nothing could be heard. The roof practically blew off the place as he stood there, hands on his hips, soaking in the insane reaction he was getting. The camera cut to John, and he alternated between looking like he had seen a ghost and being pissed off beyond belief. Looking down at the WWE Title...the very same one he had stolen...he looked into the camera and simply grinned as he made his way down the aisle.
She was having an outer body experience. She wasn't here, she knew she wasn't, because this was the craziest thing she had ever witnessed before in her life. How could this be happening? Why was he looking like that? He had grown his hair back out, as it now reached his shoulders, and there was a big blonde streak through the side of his jet black tresses. There was no semblance of the beard he used to proudly wear, only a goatee in it's place, and he was wearing the same exact shirt he had worn on his last night back in July...the words 'Best In The World' filled the screen as the camera followed his walk down the aisle, his arms extended outward as the fans continued to absolutely lose their shit.
"MY GOD! KING, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?", Cole yelled in pure hysterics.
"CM PUNK!? THAT TRAITOR!?", bellowed Lawler.
Hopping up onto the apron, his hands gripping the ropes, Phil looked straight at John with the biggest shit eating grin ever. He took a moment to look at the crowd and admire it...this, this was the biggest pop he had ever heard. And it was all for him. She could see him mouth 'Wow' to himself, much like he did last July, but this time...it meant more now.
He walked over to the turnbuckle and hopped up onto it, removing the belt from his waist and raising it high above his head, screaming "BEST IN THE WOOOOOOORLD!" to the masses, and they were eating it up. Jumping into the ring, he walked into the middle where he met John, who looked like he was ready to kill him. She could see, plain as day, the two exchange colorful words with each other, the arena rumbling, waiting for the two men to start slugging it out.
John made the first move, swinging and missing, Phil ducking underneath and looking to go on the offensive himself, but instead he found himself being hoisted up onto John's shoulders, who was looking to deliver the Attitude Adjustment of a lifetime. But Phil squirmed out and backed up towards the ropes nearest the entrance. John saw nothing but blood and ran straight at him...and it was over like that.
Phil ducked, pulling the top rope down as John toppled over, landing on the floor with a loud thud as the place damn near exploded for real this time. He had just won the Royal Rumble...he had just become (retained?) the WWE Champion...she couldn't breathe. She felt a tear form in her eye as Phil ripped his shirt off and threw it into the crowd, celebrating like he had just won the biggest match of his career, because he just did. Picking the title up off the mat, he ran around the ring in a circle, holding the title up high as the entire place cheered him like a conquering hero...because he was. Inexplicably, he was back. She didn't know what to think or do.
Walking towards the camera, holding the title up next to his face, he looked straight into it, almost like he was looking at her. She knew he was. Looking right at her and staring deep into her soul, where her fractured heart rested. He smiled as he uttered two words that left her feeling weak in the knees.
"I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack."
She fainted.
And that is that. Hope you all enjoyed. :)
