Here's the next chapter of my story! Sorry it took so long. I was planning a wrestling show of my own in early September and had a lot to do. But yea, who else loves Tweener Punk?! This girl Night of Champions had me on the edge of my seat! It's so nerve racking in person. _. I meant to update last week but my grandmother was suddenly hospitalized & passed away on Friday. Today is her funeral but I had some time to upload this because it helped keep my mind off things. ANYWAY! Here it is!

Chapter 7: Numb

Punk sat on his futon, curled up with his Batman pillow. Colt brought over a bottle of water and placed it on the table before taking a seat. Punk looked over at his friend, his eyes still burning from the amount of tears he had cried.

"Thank you for taking care of me. I know I'm a handful."

"You're welcome. What have we learned?"

"Lots of stress and junk food do not mix."

Colt laughed. "That. And everyone's opinions don't matter. Only people close to you. Like me!" he accented by pointing at the goofy smile on his face. Punk laughed for the first time in hours. Colt really was his best friend. Punk shifted his weight and leaned his head on Colt's shoulder.

"Thanks, Scott…"

He swore that Colt was about to have a heart attack at hearing his real name. It was rare but when he said it, he knew it meant the emotions behind them were true. "You're welcome. Now go to sleep." Colt smiled as he turned on the TV.

"Yes, sir."

Punk pulled into the arena parking lot, the stress of the week still heavy on his shoulders. It was still early in the day but he had yet to eat anything. He had barely eaten anything since his episode. Nothing seemed to agree with his stomach but he still needed nourishment. Regardless, he dragged his stuff behind him as he entered the arena and let a road agent know that he had arrived.

Punk made his way to the Nexus locker room to find Mason and Mike getting to know each other. "Hi, Boss!" Mike smiled. "Good day." Mason nodded. Punk waved a little and flopped down on the only couch in the room. The room was silent for a few minutes before Mike addressed their leader.

""Hey, Boss…are you ok?"

Punk initially said nothing, keeping his eyes closed. A few more minutes passed.

"Is he asleep?"

"No, I'm dead."

Mason laughed. Mike did not seem amused. "Is something bothering you?" Mason asked. "Not really. I haven't eaten for a while but the catering isn't up yet and I don't want to drive anywhere." Punk explained, placing his arms behind his head. "Would you like us to drive you?" Mike offered. Punk looked over at him in confusion.

"We aren't doing anything. We could all get a bite!"

Mason nodded. "A bonding experience." Punk looked at the two men. In the end, he decided that getting out after days of being a shut in was probably the best thing to do. He swung his legs off of the couch and sat up. "Sure. Why not?" Punk sighed, trying to sound as enthused as possible. The better of a bond they had, the more willing they were to sacrifice themselves for him. At the same time, it wouldn't hurt to have a few more "friends."

"I'll drive." Mike smiled, searching for his keys. Mason held up a set of keys and jingled them. "These?" Mike's eyes shifted uncomfortably and nodded. Punk laughed.

"I truly have WWE's finest."

Punk sat in the Nexus locker room, balancing a plastic spoon on his nose. They had gone to a local Chili's and met up with the rest of the group. It was like being back in high school for Punk. A group of loud guys at a table in the corner making a scene. Punk had actually laughed a few times at his teammates and their jokes. They all had burgers except for Mason and himself who shared the 2 for $20 deal. If that didn't send up a 'on a date' flag to the waitress, he wasn't sure what would. Mason was the only one still in the room with him but he seemed busy reading a book that Punk couldn't quite see the name of.

"The show started, right?" Punk asked. Mason looked up and checked his watch since the room lacked a clock. "About 8 minutes ago, sir." Punk sighed and looked around for the remote. It turned up next to his gym bag, although he wasn't sure how. He started to surf through the channels, passing a few shows that seemed more enticing to watch. However, he was technically at work so he should be watching his fellow co-workers. As soon as the channel loaded, he saw Edge in the ring. Edge was someone that Punk had originally been a fan of but over time, it seemed like Edge was becoming the type of person Punk despised. Apparently some sort of 2 on 1 had just happened because there were bodies lying on the ground outside the ring.

"Is this really how we open the show?! What about what we did last week?!" Punk asked, flipping over onto his stomach. He unconsciously started to kick his feet angrily. "Then why don't we do something about it?" Mason asked. Punk looked over at him. He must be losing it because that was something he should have thought of. Punk rolled off the couch and kneeled the way he did when he entered.

"Gather the troops, good sir!"

The WWE universe seemed shocked at the sound of the Nexus' theme playing throughout the arena. They had no interest in saving the laptop. It honestly could get destroyed for all Punk cared. He was just sick of his group not being the center of attention. What he had to say was much more important than the champion versus champion match later that night. He was no longer broken down, unlike Edge.

He and his men were standing tall. Five men who endured initiations to show the world how strong they were and decided to one cause: greatness. On Punk's lead, they started to approach the ring. Punk gave Edge a look that said 'yea, I just interrupted your segment. What of it?' A bit egotistical but it was the mood he was in. slowly, the five men slowly approached and entered the ring. Edge, wanting no part of this group on top of his existing injuries, just looked on before he slowly made his way towards the back.

Punk looked around at the WWE audience as he marched in front of his men. The audience booed with the exception of the few bandwagonners. He crossed his arms and made a slight annoyed face. He wasn't sure why. He just felt annoyed at the WWE Universe and life in general. For their hatred of him, for their stupid rumor spreading ways, and for the overall lack of appreciation and respect.

"In this world, only the strong survive. And the strong don't just survive…they evolve."

He went on to talk about the increased number of participants in the Royal Rumble but no matter how you look at it, he had the advantage. The Corre was a poor man's Nexus (mainly because of who was running it) and they had nothing on his men. He told the universe that he had handpicked Mason Ryan (although he had "hand kicked" Punk really) and allowed the man a chance to speak.

"I only have one thing to say," Mason started, "faith."

Punk smiled. It did his heart good to see independent wrestlers working their way up and cutting a short & sweet promo than most wrestlers could after years. Mike was a perfect example of that.

"That NXT promo was beyond embarrassing."

"Faith! I don't think I could have said it more eloquently." Punk continued, "These men are bonded by faith. Unlike John Cena…" Punk paused. Why did he start talking about John? He had to finish what he started he supposed. Or he could just change the subject. "And unlike that fake, poor man's Nexus: 'The Corre'…" Punk stated, using quotation mark fingers for emphasis. However, the WWE universe didn't want to let Punk change the subject. They started chanting "Cena" loudly, causing Punk to uncomfortably scratch the back of his neck. Even though he started talking again about uniting as one to help Punk win the Royal Rumble, the chants of disapproval grew louder.

"Not only will I go onto main event Wrestlemania. But the Nexus will become the most powerful group that the WWE Universe has ever seen!"

Suddenly, an unfamiliar song played throughout the arena.

"Who dares to interrupt m-"

Punk's breath caught in his throat when Wade Barrett and The Corre walked onto the stage. Punk's head was running with every swear word in the book. He probably shouldn't have changed the subject to The Corre because now, he had to deal with Barrett and he was pretty sure the Brit still wasn't over him. Heath and Gabriel had smirks on their faces like the former popular kids who formed a new clique and decided to challenge the popularity throne. It was weird for Punk being at this end of the scale for once, normally he was the outcast. But as soon as he snapped out of his thoughts, he realized the Corre was in the ring and staring down his men.

Barrett looked somewhat confused as to what his next step was but his eyes were on Punk who was not impressed by his team of misfits. His main non-interesting thing was Barrett himself but that didn't seem to matter right now. Punk gave Barrett a shrug as if to say 'take a picture, it will last longer.'

"Let me clarify one thing straight, Punk. The only version of the 'poor man's Nexus' is this garbage standing in front of me right not."

"Thems fighting words."

"You see The Corre…we are nothing like the Nexus. We are not some brainwashing dictatorship."

"Stop using big words that my men, except Otunga, don't understand."

Ezekial took the microphone and started to get in Punk's face. Punk wasn't sure what he was saying but he assumed it was insulting. Ezekial was within inches of Punk's face before Mason stepped in between them. Punk smiled and gave Ezekial the 'I got backup, bitch' look. He could hear Mike and Harris making noises that reflected the same attitude. Before it broke out into an all-out brawl, the lights started to flicker on and off. It was about time that the Raw GM stepped in. Punk moved Mason back and assured him that it would be alright.

Michael Cole got up and overdramatized his importance as usual and opened the laptop that almost met its demise earlier. Cole proceeded to read the e-mail which told The Corre that if they wanted to be on Raw, they would have to play by the GM's rules. With Teddy Long out of commission, he/she had the power to make a match involving them.

"Tonight on Raw, Wade Barrett will face CM Punk."

Punk couldn't help but snicker. He could finally let out some of the frustrations that Barrett had caused him over the past few weeks.

"But the stakes are high!"

"This is never good…"

"The loser of this match will find himself and his crew out of the Royal Rumble!"

The crowd erupted. Heath Slater looked like he was about to cry and the rest of Corre started to look nervous. Punk turned his head to look at Cole somewhat concerned but at least his men seemed confident.

"And gentlemen, there is one last thing!"

"What else?!"

"The Special Referee for this Barrett versus Punk match tonight…will be someone you are both extremely familiar with."

Punk felt his heart race. There was only one person it could be and he wasn't ready to see him yet. Not for a while.

"The guest referee will be…John Cena!"

The crowd went crazy. Punk felt his hand shake. If he knew who this anonymous Raw GM was, he'd probably smother him with a pillow. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Harris had been trying to get his attention for some time now but Punk had been too distracted. He whipped his head back to see that Barrett was in as much of a panic as he was. Barrett started to yell at him but he was too distracted by his thoughts and men to hear the exact words. So he yelled back the only thing that came to his mind.

"Just stay away from me until later! I'm gonna kick your ass so hard even tea time won't help!"

Barrett just looked at Punk, which made him even more worried. Punk started scratching the back of his head, the fear starting to show on his face.

"What am I gonna do?!"

Punk had been walking around for about 45 minutes now. He was fighting with himself. How was he going to handle Barrett and not focus on John? Was John going to help Barrett win? Would John help him win? So many questions were floating around. His men seemed distraught as well. As he passed a monitor, his own image caught his eye. It was a promo edited together to show his triumph and unity of Nexus. Punk let out a deep sigh as he saw himself pose with his men.

"Come on, Phil. Get it together. If you can't focus, neither can they!"

Punk picked up the pace and made his way back to the locker room. As he turned the corner, he collided with Mason. "Sorry, sir," Mason started, "I didn't hear you coming." Punk shook his head before looking up at the tan man before him, "Its fine. Why are you out here?" he asked. Mason also shook his head. "The men seem nervous. They are worried what will happen if you do not win." Mason explained, "I chose not to be around such negativity. I believe in you."

Punk smiled. At least someone seemed calm about this match. Punk smiled at this. "Sir, are you sure you are alright? You seemed distracted in the ring." Mason really seemed to care about Punk's well-being. "Yes, Mason. I was just…caught off guard is all." Punk explained, "Let's worry about the men. I guarantee my victory." Mason nodded and opened the door for his leader.

"Chivalry isn't dead, I see."

Punk could hear his men's voices as he slowly entered the room. They sounded worried and negative, just as Mason had said. Punk reached out and grabbed Mike's shoulder. They all looked a little shocked to see him.

"Gentlemen…I'm sensing a lot of," He looked to Mason to try and think of the way he had put it outside, "negative energy in the room and I don't like it. I don't know what you are all worried about."

No matter what he said after that, Husky's eyes continued to avoid him. Even when he got close, Husky slanted his head away. The large man continued to look around and appeared more and more uncomfortable. Apparently, Punk's words were not soothing to him. "Did you forget the sacrifices we made? And last we, I defeated John Cena." Punk stated. Two of the three men seemed to be listening. Harris kept his hat pulled down over his eyes and made it a point to keep his eyes averted. "I beat John Cena," Punk continued, "to show you the power of sacrifice. Sunday, at the Royal Rumble, you'll make the sacrifice of your spot in the match to ensure my victory." Harris turned his head away, pretending to be distracted with something on the wall.

"Trust me when I tell you this: when I win the Royal Rumble and go on to main event Wrestlemania, all of your lives will change."

Husky's head turned back to the floor. Punk was a combination of concerned and annoyed at this point. Husky was the only one who either didn't care or didn't believe in faith. Punk leaned forward and looked up at the larger man's eyes. "Husky?" he asked, "Is there something you would like to share with the group?" Husky removed his hat and ran his hands through his hair.

"It's like this: there are forty people in the Royal Rumble this year. What if you are eliminated before any of us even enter?"

Mason stepped towards Harris.

"CM Punk will not be eliminated!"

Punk couldn't help but smile. Mason was the newest member of Nexus but he was the most loyal. He would make a very good boyfriend but the Chicago Native knew the Brit wasn't like that. Still, it was nice to be cared for. Husky nodded, not sure if he did it because he understood or due to Mason's intimidation. "Just worry about tonight, alright?" Punk assured them.

"What about Cena?" Mike interjected, "Considering what we did to him…he isn't gonna let you win tonight."

This was the same fear Punk held inside, along with John's possible disgust of him.

"I don't expect him to let me win. He'll have no choice. Besides, Wade Barrett made his life a living hell. Not me. Have faith."

Punk knelt down and motioned for the other men to do the same. Slowly, all four men joined him on the floor. Without word, he raised his fist. One by one, each man joined in. Mason smiled at Punk, and Punk did the same.

"John Cena or not…tonight, I WILL WIN!"