Author's Note:

Yo, yo, yo, yo. What's up fellas? Quick note to let you know that this story is officially rated M, due to language (not from my A/N's, lol) and uhm... *coughs* certain situations.

ANYWAY...

Extreme Rules was kind of meh. HHH/Brock was pitiful to look at, I couldn't care less for Cena/Ryback, and ADR/Swagger was all kinds of fuckery.

HOWEVER, The Shield made me very happy, as well as the continuing build up for AJ/Kaitlyn! This is a feud that could potentially help revitalize the Divas Division. Let's hope the girls, as well as the retarded monkies known as WWE Creative, keep up the good work... for now.

Now, folks. Enjoy the new chapter! :D

Love, Honor & Glory

Part VIII

Chapter 7 - Beat The Clock

Two days later

Monday Night RAW - February 4, 2013

Phillips Arena - Atlanta, GA

Inside the arena

As Monday night rolled around, so did another showcasing of WWE's finest athletes and superstars, and they got set to present another rousing episode of it's flagship program, Monday Night RAW, to it's dedicated and passionate fans as it emanated from the sold out Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, the one-time host city of WrestleMania XXVII. The crowd was at a fever pitch, as they, along with the rest of the WWE Universe watching at their homes live all around the globe, were reeling off the heels of last week's surprising (to say the least) appearance by the Chairman himself, Mr. McMahon, who then made an even more surprising announcement concerning the upcoming Elimination Chamber event in New Orleans in less than two weeks.

CM Punk would try to continue his record-breaking, history-making reign as WWE Champion by defending the coveted title inside the demonic chamber itself, against five of the very best superstars that the WWE had to offer: Kane and Daniel Bryan, the dysfunctional yet cohesive unit of Team Hell No; The Show Off (and now briefcase-less) Dolph Ziggler; the Beast Incarnate from Sin City known as Ryback; and the one and only Great One himself, The Rock.

As the crowd wondered what would happen next, an image appeared on the giant titantron screen, and the sight was definitely not welcomed in the absolute least bit.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Vickie Guerrero," was the greeting that the Managing Supervisor for RAW delivered, which was quickly answered by a chorus of boos, as the fans were nowhere near happy nor glad to see the self-described "Cougar in Charge" at this particular moment. She continued on by adding, "Last week, I came down with an unfortunate illness, and was not able to perform my duties as Managing Supervisor for that night's RAW."

The crowd then gave a slight cheer, which indicated that they were happy with not having to deal with Vickie for at least one night.

"But fortunately for me, I have been able to make a full recovery," she stated with her well-known bedeviled grin, her proclamation of full health garnering even more of a negative reaction from the fans in attendance, who groaned in disapproval.

"Now, last week on RAW, Mr. McMahon took care of things in my absence, even announcing the main event for the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. While I think that what Mr. McMahon announced was highly creative, and greatly innovative, I still think there needs to be more incentive to this match, with it being for the WWE Championship and all."

With the audience wondering what that exactly meant, Vickie let them in on it not a moment too soon.

"That is why tonight, right here on RAW, the participants in the Elimination Chamber match will be competing in a Beat The Clock Challenge, to help determine the superstar that will enter the match itself last!"

Whatever displeasure fans might have had with Vickie, it briefly vanished as they erupted into a pantheon of cheers at the announcement, gearing themselves up for a night of frenetic pace and nonstop action.

Vickie concluded her statement by finishing up and parting with, "So, everyone, just sit back and relax, enjoy tonight's action, and have a wonderful time! As for the combatants, all I can say is... you are now officially... on the clock."

As the night progressed, so did the Beat The Clock Challenge. The basic synopsis of the concept was simple: a series of matches would be held by multiple superstars to see out of all of them, which wrestler would win their match in the shortest amount of time. The first match always set the original time to beat, and in the ensuing matches, that time would either remain, or be bested by another, more quicker time. By the end of it all, the superstar who had won his match in the fastest amount of time would officially win the challenge, and in this instance, be the man that would have the advantageous position to enter into the barbaric Elimination Chamber match last, having the opportunity to be the freshest person in such a grueling match.

Before the challenge was to begin, however, Vickie sent out a tweet to the WWE Universe, informing them that due to scheduling conflicts, The Rock would not be able to compete for the night. In the midst of the crowd's disappointed reaction to that unfortunate bit of news, Vickie would further add on by stating that Rock's entry into the match would be declared by a random drawing at a later time.

The first match of the night was a barn-burner, and an absolute treat that all Wrestling fans would enjoy. In a battle of former World Champions, The self-proclaimed "Dazzler", Daniel Bryan, would be taking on none other than Y2J, Chris Jericho. In a match that tilted back and forth, with both competitors trading momentum at every turn, and included a mixed vary of high-flying attacks with basic ground grappling, it got the night of in-ring action off to a great start.

Finally, after nearing 20 minutes of time, Bryan was able to trap Jericho in his deadly submission hold, The No Lock, and forced the Canadian great to tap out at 18:34.

Though Bryan was satisfied with the win, the heavily bearded one half of the Tag Team Champs was not satisfied, however, with how long it took to put Jericho away. He feared that his time would be bested almost immediately.

And in the next match, those fears came true. Though the match-up seemed to be a laughable farce at the onset, it was one of the more intriguing matches of the night, and almost produced a major upset. The Demented Monster, and Daniel's tag partner, Kane, dispatched Zack Ryder in 14:47. Though the Long Island native gave it his all, and at point nearly having Kane beat, he eventually fell to the Devil's Favorite Demon by way of a thunderous chokeslam.

Kane made sure after the match to goad his goatfaced companion in boastful fashion, displaying the outward confidence that he would be the last man entering.

However, the Big Red Machine would not savor that chance, for in the next contest, the destructive carnivorous force known as Ryback would polish off the very large and formidable Tensai. Although the man formerly known as Albert held his own, on this night it was the younger and stronger Ryback who would claim victory after a earth-shattering Shellshock, pinning Tensai in 11:28 and beating Kane's time.

The possibility that a freight train beast like Ryback could potentially be the last guy to enter the match, using his fresh and stored energy to help run roughshod over everyone else in the chamber, gave fans shuddering flashbacks to how Goldberg was a dismantling force himself when his turn came in the evil structure nearly 10 years back at SummerSlam. It also probably didn't help Ryback that this would eventually lead to the smarkier portion of the audience continue to mockingly compare him to Goldberg, but Ryback didn't care. His job was to destroy opponents, win matches, and wait for the next victim in between.

But alas, Ryback's chances ended just as fast as Kane and Daniel's did before him. That's because when the second to last match arrived, the brash and arrogant Dolph Ziggler defeated the energetic and exciting Kofi Kingston, the Ghanaian high-flyer in exactly 10 minutes flat, which of course also bested Ryback's time, therefore knocking him out of the last spot, and placing Ziggler there in his place.

It should be worth noting that Dolph was able to achieve this victory thanks in part to the necessary ringside distractions from his burly confidant, Big E Langston, who Ziggler still managed to attain in the aftermath of dumping AJ. Sometimes, though, whenever the flashy and cocky blonde was in a less than pleased mood, he would sometimes lash out at Langston, similar to how he did against AJ the night he ended their relationship, but the stoic young Langston remained quiet despite Dolph's verbal abuse and scathing insults.

Nonetheless, the Show Off was feeling the same way he would describe how he made things look, and that was damn good.

Backstage

However, Ziggler could not celebrate just yet, because there was still one more match to go. The WWE Champion himself, CM Punk, would be going one on one against a former WWE Champion in his own right, and a man that had not only main-evented WrestleMania himself, but even managed to defeat the great John Cena himself as well; it was none other than the "Awesome" one himself, The Miz.

In the minutes leading up to him ready to go out for his match against Miz, Punk was in the back doing his usual warm up, which consisted of his routine exercise of stretching his limbs, and moving them around in pendulum fashion, while listening to some of his favorite music that was blasting through his ear buds. Not only did it give him time to prepare, it also gave him time to think, time to clear his mind of whatever nagging thoughts there were, and get ready for the task ahead.

However, on this occasion, Punk wasn't quite his usual self when it came to his pre-match ritual. and for this one time was not able to clear certain nagging thoughts from his mind. The one particular thought that always managed to keep coming right back was how he left AJ hanging high and dry the other day, almost certainly destroying the rebuilding process they had done to their tattered relationship. Since then, he had constantly derided and cursed himself before being such a coward, such a wimp, such (in his own words) a "fucking pussy." He was sure that AJ never wanted to talk to him ever again after he chickened out like that, and he wouldn't have blamed her for it at all.

Still, that didn't mean that it didn't bother him, either. The heartbreaking image of AJ's face, that sweet adorable face, still waiting and anticipating the kiss that would never come, still dreaming the impossible dream, would haunt Punk's own dreams for the next two days leading up to this moment. Knowing that he needed to do something to clear his head and get focused for his match against Miz, Punk merely decided to have a mindful walk.

Taking his championship with him, Punk set out on his way and trekked throughout all the back halls of the large arena, trying to calm himself and steer his focus to the match ahead.

When he got around the area near Gorilla, he stopped dead in his tracks at what he had found: it was AJ, leaning casually against a crate as she chatted along with her fellow Chickbuster Kaitlyn, seemingly appearing to many that the former best friends could now take the "former" part off of that mantle.

Punk, almost seemingly absentmindedly, could not help but notice AJ, and how she , of course, looked remarkably stunning, having very little to no makeup on her at all, which seemingly made her look even more beautiful, if that was even possible. Her well-known quirky attire consisted of a red and black small top, special designs being made no doubt by AJ and a trusty pair of scissors. The top cut off at her midriff, which exposed her phenomenally in-shape stomach, her washboard abs being displayed in all it's glory.

Traveling his eyes further downwards, Punk also happened to notice that AJ was wearing her usual pair of denim shorts, which meant that AJ's wonderfully splendid and well-toned legs would be on full displays. AJ topped it all off by having her feet decked out in a pair of cherry red low-top Chuck Taylors, which came off looking it was her very own version of Dorothy's famous slippers from The Wizard of Oz.

While all of this was going on, Punk couldn't help but feel a stirring movement going on inside of his trunks, primarily involving his nether regions. It was weird because if he didn't know any better, this meant that he was having himself an erection. Surely, this couldn't be happening, right?

But one close look at the growing bulge that came from the center of his trunks confirmed it for him in one big way: Punk was hard. VERY hard, in fact. And AJ was the cause of all of it.

This little embarrassing realization also reaffirmed to Punk, albeit in a extremely unusual way, that AJ was still on his mind, which was sobering and relieving to know.

After using breathing techniques to help quell down his, ahem, "stiff post", Punk composed himself and aloofly walked on over to where AJ and Kaitlyn, interrupting their conversation with a firm, yet respectful, cough. The two women turned their head to where the noise was, and their reactions to seeing the tattooed champion at that moment were quite the opposite, and that was an understatement.

Kaitlyn had a look on her face that displayed a slight surprise, but overall was welcoming to Punk's presence. AJ's feature, meanwhile, told a much different story, altogether, a mix of disgust, anger, and annoyance. Just like she was with Dolph a few days ago, she was in no mood whatsoever to be looking at the Straight Edge Superstar right about now, especially after the stunt he pulled on Saturday.

"OK, then. Well, um... I'll leave you be," Kaitlyn anxiously uttered, causing AJ to flip her head back at her in astonished bewilderment.

"But Kait, I thought..." AJ started to say before the Houston native retorted by saying, "Nah, that's OK. We'll finish talking later. Besides, Layla needs me to help her with something real quick. I'll call you later, OK?"

AJ wanted to give a rebuttal to try and convince Kaitlyn to stay with her, with the main objective being so that she wouldn't talk to Punk, but eventually she relented. "OK," she sighed in a defeated manner.

After noticing her two-toned friend bring up her closed fist to her, AJ reluctantly, but unabashedly returned the gesture, completing their signature Chickbusters handshake. Shortly after that, Kaitlyn made her cue to exit stage left as she walked away, leaving only Punk and AJ all by their lonesome selves, the two of them sharing a long, uncomfortable silence. After about a long minute of waiting, Punk was the first one to speak.

"Well... how's it going, AJ?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"How is it going? How is it GOING? Is that even a question to ask me?" AJ scoffed incredulously, not believing what she had just heard.

"How the fuck do you think it's going, Punk? After wanting me to that stupid lunch thing with you so damn bad, you decide to stand me up and quickly leave at the last second, leaving me to look like a complete and total idiot!" she exasperated venomously. "And to think, after all this time, I actually thought that someday you and I would be back on good terms, a friendship even. Maybe even a little more..."

She quickly shook her head, ridding herself of that callous fantasy. "What a huge crock of shit that turned out to be. So, Punk, do me a favor, why don't you do me a favor, OK? Just turn your tattooed covered ass right around from where you're standing, walk away, stay out of my way, and stay the fuck out of my life," she finished strongly.

While Punk necessarily didn't like what he was hearing, he understood it as well. If he was in AJ's place, he would be feeling as upset and angry as she was right now. Maybe even worse, Hell, he might have already slapped the shit out of himself if he was her if the roles were reversed, because he sure as hell deserved it.

After a moment of giving AJ her time to settle down from her mini-tirade, Punk took in a deep breath, let it back out and began his apology.

"AJ... I know that right now, you probably feel sick to your stomach just looking at the sight of me."

"And you would probably be right, too," was AJ's quick interjection, and Punk didn't take any offense to it. After what he put her through, she could whatever she damned well pleased.

"Even still, despite all of that, despite of everything I've done to you, despite of everything that's happened between us and how it might have went sour, through it all... I still care for you."

AJ, still wearing a deflowered frown on her face, began to ponder over what he had just said, but was still cautious. because the last time she opened herself up to him, he played her like a fiddle then cut her strings. Still, she paid attention to what he had to say. And what he said next had definitely surprised her.

"I fucked up, AJ," Punk blurted out of nowhere, which caught AJ totally off guard. "I fucked up bad, real bad. I haven't been able to sleep, think clearly, get my mind straight. Hell, I can't even focus on some of moves in practice. I've been thrown completely out of balance, and I think I know why."

A few seconds passed, which felt like an eternity, before AJ responded, speaking with a slight quiver, indicating the slight crack in her defensive armor. "And what was that?"

"That I missed you," Punk answered, sounding seemingly sincere this time. "Truth is, AJ, I've missed every part of you. I tried to deny it, lie to myself even, but in the end I couldn't shake it. I missed your smile, your laugh, your little sneaky smirk... and yes, even your skipping," he admitted shamelessly. "So what I'm saying here, and I usually don't say this, like ever, but I'm sorry, AJ. And I hope somewhere within you, you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

While AJ genuinely appreciated Punk's thoughtful words, she still had a bit of a hard time of believing him. Not knowing what else to do, or what to say, she merely turned around and stayed put, her back showing itself to Punk. She turned her head to him slightly, but only to say, "That's a nice little apology there, Punk. But I'm not letting you off the hook that easy. It's gonna take a hell of a whole lot more to convince me you really mean it." After that, she turned her head back towards the front, giving him a partially intended cold shoulder.

Punk looked around, thinking of what to do, before he made his response. "Well, then if you want me to be convincing, what do you think of this?" he stated, like a challenge almost, as he came right up behind AJ, and wrapped his ink-covered arms around her slender frame. AJ flinched initially, but in time, accepted the embrace, and eased her body somewhat in Punk's grip.

"OK, I'll admit. You're doing good so far," AJ relented softly, trying to hide a smile, and a blush, as she felt Punk's body heat envelop her even more.

"Well," he drawled his lips close to her ear, the warmth of his breath tickling the sensitive nerve endings on her skin. "What else can I do to make you feel satisfied, jalan atthiari?" was what he whispered to her.

In response, AJ's eyes, which were closing due to how close and comfy she felt in Punk's arms, opened her eyes back again in widened shock, trying to make sure that what she had just heard was no day dream.

Turning around to face him, she she queried with a curious demeanor, "What did you just say?" Punk, proud of himself that she was able to hear what he had just said, was more than happy to say it again.

"I said, what else can I do to make you feel satisfied, jalan atthiari?" he repeated fluently, full confidence brimming in the form of a simple smile.

Try as she might, and doing whatever she could not to yield another victory to him, AJ ultimately failed, and the barrier was broken down as twin streaks of tears rolled down her tanned cheeks. Taking the time to wipe her misty, AJ sniffled before offering a tearful giggle, before saying to Punk, "You son of a bitch. You really know where to hit my weak points, don't you?"

"What can I say? It's a gift," was his sly reply, which elicited another laugh out of AJ.

AJ, seemingly impressed, merely reached up with her hand, grabbed Punk behind the head, and with heartfelt sincerity, she stated, "Come here, you dumb asshole," before reaching up on her tip toes and latching herself onto Punk's mouth, as they crashed their lips together for a big, wet, and long overdue kiss.

After a few brief moments, though they did not want to, Punk and AJ eventually broke their lip lock, the lack of air eventually overcoming them.

"I wish we had more time," AJ lamented woefully.

"I know," Punk agreed in a hushed tone. "But we'll have more time later, when I'm done wiping the floor with Miz's goofy looking face."

With a lifting chuckle, AJ said, "Well, just make it quick. We have a lot to talk about."

"Don't worry, I intend to."

Before sharing one final kiss, Punk uttered once more to AJ, "See you later, jalan atthiari."

"Same to you, shekh ma shiekrai anni," she responded, matching Punk wit for wit.

With a snicker, one of amused appreciation for AJ's choice of tongue, the WWE Champion pressed one more kiss to the petite brunette's mouth, before heading on his way, not before hearing her shout out to him, "Kick some ass out there!" as he sprinted on his path.

While they didn't know it, Punk and AJ were being carefully watched again. This time, however, it was not Heyman, for it was someone else. Someone who had some intertwining history with the pair. Someone who had valued stock into what the implications the upcoming match between Punk and Miz had. And someone,who was burning with seething hatred, jealousy and envy, not liking what he had heard (or seen, for that matter) one damn bit.

As he peered out over a nearby crate, Dolph Ziggler only had thing to say as he turned his attention from where AJ was standing, to the direction where Punk had run off to:

That motherfucker...

Author's Note:

Well, then. That escalated quickly, lol.

BTW, for the folks wondering what the heck was that language Punk and AJ were saying to each other, it was Dothraki talk, as seen in Game of Thrones, which was referenced in the last chapter. Punk said to AJ, "Moon of my life", while AJ said to Punk, "My sun and stars". Speaking of GoT, I can't wait for the next episode tomorrow!

Anywho, you all know what to do. Read, fav, follow, and review! Catch y'all next time! :)

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