Allison sat in her room and stared out the window. It was still pretty early but she had tossed and turned so much during the night that she figured she may as well get up. She could hear her father stomping around downstairs more than likely pissed off at her stepmother for staying out late again. Allison often wondered why her father wouldn't just leave that bitch of a step mother but she later convinced herself that they were a match made in heaven. Hopefully he won't beat me too bad today. Allison jumped at the sound of her father's footsteps coming up the stairs. A second later he was pounding on her door.

"ALLISON!"

"Ye…yes sir?"

"What are you doing in there?"

"Uh…getting dressed for work," she lied.

"Oh…ok. Well fuck I'll leave you alone then. What time you get off? I need someone to cook me supper since that whore I sleep with occasionally won't do it," he grumbled.

"Uh…how about I bring you something when I get off? I got to work a double shift."

"Yeah whatever," he mumbled stumbling back down the stairs. Allison let out a huge breath as she climbed off her bed and started rummaging through her drawers for her work clothes. Technically she only had to work one shift and that wasn't for another two hours but she figured she would go to the park to pass the time away. It was a pretty morning and she figured the fresh air would do her some good. Minutes later she was sneaking down the stairs and out the house to enjoy a long morning walk.

BB--BB--BB

Shawn sat outside in the lobby of the doctor's office reading a magazine. A few minutes later he spotted Cena coming up the hall wearing the smuggest of grins. He was no longer wearing that cast which made Shawn smile.

"I see that the cast is gone," he grinned standing to his feet.

"Yeah man and I feel great! The doc said that if I want to I can get back to the ring although he stressed that I should probably wait another month."

"Are ya?"

"Hell naw man! I can't believe you just asked me that. Would you?"

"Well…I am older…"

"Oh cut the crap!"

"Yeah…you're right. I'll get right back in the ring. But enough of that. Do you know what this means?"

"Um…that I can go and beat the hell out of Randy and recapture the WWE Championship?"

"Um…no. Have you forgotten about the girl already?" Shawn asked shaking his head.

"What? No! I…I just…"

"You just need to go and take care of business. Now let's go. You're wasting time and I need to go call my baby." Shawn ushered his friend out of the building with the hope that Cena could make things right for the girl.

BB--BB--BB

Cena dropped Shawn off at the gym before pulling his Explorer across the street from Starbucks. He was pretty sure Allison had to work but he knew that if he went inside the coffee shop she would only hide or sneak out the back to avoid talking. He couldn't have that. Not today. After hearing Shawn talk about Kim and all it made him realize that he cared for Allison a lot. He wasn't sure what a lot meant but he knew he cared for her more than Carmella. That was the one and only thing he was sure of at this point.

He wasn't sure how long he had been waiting since he was pretty sure he had zoned out, but after what seemed like minutes he spotted Allison coming out of Starbucks. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail and she was wearing some khakis and the jacket he had given her that night. She stopped at the street corner and looked down the road, probably looking for a cab. Not today sweetheart. Cena rolled down his window and called out to her.

"HEY ALLISON! OVER HERE SWEETS!" She looked across the street and grinned.

"SHAWN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"COMING TO TAKE YOU HOME WITH ME," he grinned. She smiled as she hurried across the street and to his car. "Well, aren't you going to get in?"

"Well…I don't know. I should probably…hey wait a sec! You are NOT supposed to be driving! Are you crazy?!"

"Get back baby girl." She took a few steps from the car so that he could get out. Much to her surprise, he grabbed her and pulled her into a big hug.

"Oh my…SHAWN! Your arm is free!" she exclaimed. He kissed the top of her forehead as he pulled away.

"Yep, which means you have absolutely no chance of getting away today."

"I…well I guess not." She reluctantly got inside the vehicle and Cena couldn't help but to grin.

"What's so funny?" she asked as she closed the door. She folded her arms across her staring him down in an attempt to give him the 'mom' face but she only caused him to laugh harder.

"Nothing sweets. So have you eaten anything yet?"

"Uh…I hate to say it but I have."

"Oh darn it. Then I suppose ice cream and a walk through the park is just out of the question? Poor me. I'm all alone with no one to talk to or hang out with. What's a guy like me to do?"

"Oh alright you big baby. Ice cream would be fantastic and in case you haven't figured it out yet, the park is my ideal place."

"That was my plan," he grinned.

Ten minutes later they were strolling through the park side by side eating chocolate ice cream on cones. There were quite a few people hanging out in the park. There were a lot of children playing ball or walking their dogs. There were also couples that could be seen sharing moments under the trees or snuggling on the benches.

"Must be nice," Allison mumbled.

"What must be nice?"

"Oh you heard me?"

"Of course. You forget, I actually pay attention to the people I care about."

"Oh….well…I was only thinking out loud."

"About what?"

"It's nothing."

"Oh come on," he wined. "Please?" he asked, making a baby face.

"I was just commenting on some of the couples. I was thinking that it must be nice to have someone to…be that close to."

"Oh. So I take it you don't have anyone like that?" Allison shot him a look that clearly said 'asshole'. "What?"

"You scared off my boyfriend remember?"

"Oh…yeah I did but he didn't deserve you anyway."

"How you figure? How do you know I wasn't an asshole to him all the time?"

"Because I just know."

"Oh give me a break! That's such a typical man statement."

"At least you recognize a man when you see one," he smirked.

"I've been wrong several times."

"But I can assure you that you're not wrong this time."

"If you say so," she grinned. They walked along in silence passing a few more couples along the way until they reached the dock. Cena led Allison to a gazebo by the lake where they sat down together. He put his arm around her pulling her close as she snuggled up against him.

"A few weeks ago I would have laughed in someone's face if they told me that I would be snuggled up against a real hot man under a gazebo." Cena chuckled at her statement before letting his fingers wander down her arm then to her fingers.

"Yeah well a few weeks ago I was damning the world to hell and just last year I was damning all women to hell with the world." Allison shifted a little before raising her head to meet his gaze.

"Awe…that's so sad. Why were you damning women and the world to hell?"

"Well, just like you I had a very bad relationship experience. It wasn't the worst experience ever but at the time I thought so."

"What happened? Oh wait, you don't have to answer that. That was very rude of me to ask and…"

"It's ok. I don't mind talking about it."

"But that was still rude of me and then there's the fact that you haven't known me long enough to trust me so…"

"I trust you. You're my friend and if you can't trust good friends then who can you trust?"

"Uh…"

"My point exactly. Now I haven't had very many serious relationships. In fact I've had only two and both were with the same girl."

"Wow. You don't hear that often."

"Yeah well it was just lucky for me…or so I thought. To give you quick rundown, last year I had proposed to this woman. I loved her…I think…"

"You think?" she scoffed.

"Yeah well sometimes when I have time to mull over it—like now—then it makes me wonder whether or not I loved her enough to make it last a lifetime ya know?"

"Oh, I get it."

"Yeah well as you probably have guessed, she turned me down. She said she wasn't ready to commit like that. I know you're probably wondering why I didn't just wait for her."

"Yeah. I am."

"We talked about it and basically she loved me but she wasn't 'in love' with me. She wanted to put her career ahead of our relationship. Now granted that I told her it wouldn't get in the way and I was even willing to take time off of my job to make things right but it wasn't enough. Call me whatever you want but that really hurt me to the point where I wanted absolutely nothing to do with women ever again."

"Oh Shawn…Shawn I'm so sorry. I wish I wouldn't have asked."

"It's ok baby girl. You're the second person I've discussed this with and you know what?"

"What?"

"I'm glad that I did." He smiled down at her and getting lost in the moment, his lips somehow found their way on top of hers. Before he knew it, his tongue was in her mouth and he was pulling her body closer, feeling the warmth of her. Before he could get too lost in the kiss, he pulled away and chuckled.

"What's so funny?" she teased.

"How your kisses never seem to lose their electricity." Her face turned a light shade of pink before she turned away.

"Hey Shawn?"

"Hmmm?"

"My father beats me." At this, Cena sat up straight and studied her intently. This was the opening he'd been looking for all day although he had to shamefully admit to himself that he had forgotten all about Shawn's 'Operation Seduce Allison'.

"You are finally ready to confide in me?" She turned to him and smiled.

"I don't…talk about this to anyone except my Xanga but after hearing your story about your…past I just feel like I can finally speak about this."

"I want to hear your story and I want to help you in anyway that I can but if you don't want my help, I'll respect that—for now—and take what I can get."

"Thanks Shawn."

"So tell me why would he beat a sweet thing like yourself?"

"I think he beats me because my stepmother angers him so much. She never stays home. She goes out all the time with her high-class friends but she stays out so late. My father thinks she's sleeping around but who knows? He drinks tequila and rum all day so he really wouldn't know."

"Whoa! He hardcore ain't he? Tequila and rum? Wow."

"Yeah," she replied softly. Cena put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Why do you put up with it? Baby girl, you can leave anytime you want you know."

"Yeah but he's putting me through school. My mother can't afford to do it."

"I hear ya but…well, I can't really blame you for trying to stick it out. I guess if I was in your shoes, I'd do my best to stay in school too, but now you have options baby girl."

"Options? Shawn, I really don't want to be working at Starbucks the rest of my life. I don't mind living here but I want something more."

"And you can have more."

"How?"

"Well I…I think you should come and…"

"JOHN?" Allison and Cena both looked up to see Carmella standing in front of them.

"Carmella? What are you doing here?" he asked. The tone of his voice signified his utter annoyance as well as shock. Why the hell was Carmella lurking about?

"I was just out walking in the park with my cousin. We thought we had spotted you earlier but we weren't sure. Who's your friend?" she asked smiling.

"Uh…" He was so full of mixed emotions that words would not escape his lips. Of all the times for Carmella to show up this was one time he wished she'd have stayed away.

"Is she your new girlfriend John?" she asked. "If so, I am sorry for intruding. I was just stopping by to say hi since you never call."

"What?!" he asked. "Carmella, just…"

"You go by the name John?" Allison asked.

"Well…" he started but Carmella cut him off.

"That's his name isn't it?" she joked. Allison just stared at her and then cut her eyes towards Cena. "Uh…did I say something wrong?" she asked clearly sensing the dramatic build up of tension that had begun to surround them.

"Allison…" Cena started.

"Is John your middle name?" she asked softly.

"No. John is his first name. His middle name is Anthony…"

"CARMELLA!" he yelled now standing to his feet.

"What? I was only trying to help. My God, doesn't she watch TV? I mean, you're all over TV now days with your commercials and wrestling."

"You're a movie star?" Allison squeaked. She was now fighting hard to hold back the tears and mask the sadness in her voice.

"No, I'm not a…"

"Oh yes he is!" Carmella shrieked. "Haven't you seen the movie 'The Marine'? He was so awesome in that movie!" Allison just blinked her eyes several times before standing to her feet.

"John Cena is the marine," she replied softly. "My brother has your DVD."

"Allison wait…"

"I'll let you two catch up. I have to…I have somewhere…I gotta go," she choked before running off.