it's been ages since I updated! hope this doesn't disappoint :))))))))) review/follow/tell your neighbour's mum's cat ;)

Phoebe growled in frustration as she saw the flight back to Stamford was delayed 5 more hours, this was just typical. She was stuck in Chicago with nowhere to go and with little to no money. Every time she tried ringing someone it either went to voicemail or there phone was delayed. The thundering rain storm had been the main cause to the delay in flight- her hair was stuck to her head soaking, dripping wet, luckily she wore no makeup or else she would've looked like a clown, and finally her white, lace bra had begun to emerge from the thin material, the blouse that clung to her body.

The live shows had already been recorded so it was just house shows throughout the entire week, Phoebe was needed for it but if she didn't get a flight out soon she was worried in case she was stuck in Chicago for the whole tonight, freezing her tits off. Hours began to pass and Phoebe was feeling frustration build up inside her. She was supposed to be in L.A an hour ago, an hour ago she should've been wrapped up in the sunny heats sipping a Cosmopolitan. Her teeth chattered and the goosebumps on her skin were almost permanent. Eventually it was one in the morning when Phoebe had woken up from lounging on an airport chair, she was growing increasingly uncomfortable and decided to ahead for some coffee, preferably a Starbucks.

Finally she had found one around a corner, thanking god that no one was around and that she was the only customer; she set her suitcase and laptop case on a nearby table and went to order something.

"What can I get you ma'am?"

"Yeah, can I get a Vanilla Bean Macchiato and a roasted tomato and mozzarella Panini to go please," Phoebe smiled at the man serving.

"Will that be all?" Nodding, the cashier finally asked. "And what's your name please ma'am?"

"Phoebe."

"Make that two please, the name's Punk" a voice spoke from behind her. Punk? What was he doing here? Phoebe swivelled around to see him with a bag slumped over his back, and a cap to cover his face, not so successful. The cashier scurried off, leaving the two alone.

"Punk."

He looked up from his cap, while Phoebe's was still shocked to see him there he looked up and she could've sworn that she saw him smirking. Truth be told Punk was coming in from a house show to return back to his home in Chicago, seeing her waiting in Starbucks on her own had surprised him and he decided to see what was going on. Ordering the same thing as she did just made it easier for them to sit down together somewhere and talk.

"I was sure it was you, I just had to make sure. So what brings you to Chicago?" Before Phoebe could answer the cashier bustled over.

"That will be $13.95." Phoebe reached down into the bottom of her purse, fishing out her purse, meanwhile Punk handed over his American Express card.

"Midnight meal is on me, least I could do," swiping it the man handed it back to Punk. Phoebe flashed him a small smile and strode along to the end of the counter to wait for her coffee and sandwich.

"I was supposed to be on a plane back to Stamford but, it's been delayed for 5 hours now," she blew a heavy sigh. "What about you?"

"I'm back home, got the week off so no more house shows for me," Phoebe's mind clicked, of course Punk was from Chicago and neither him nor Jericho were doing house shows till Extreme Rules.

A couple moments passed in silence and eventually the two had gotten there drink and Panini and Phoebe walked over to the table where she had left her suitcase and laptop, Punk following behind her. Phoebe took a sip of her Macchiato, feeling the hot liquid slither down her throat, it felt good and made her somewhat more awake, resting the drink she noticed Punk was watching her intently.

"Are you going to sit with me?"

"I did pay for it, but if you want me to go…" Phoebe didn't want to exactly eat with him but she couldn't say no, he did pay for it.

"Sit down, it's fine." Punk pulled up the chair opposite her and plopped himself down. In silence they spread out their food and drinks, Punk was first to take a bite out of his sandwich.

"I'm so hungry," Punk mumbled, enjoying the heat and the taste of his Panini. The weather had been incredibly cold and thunderous outside.

"So what time's your next flight?" Punk asked through mouthfuls.

"9am, the rain has fucked up all of the flight schedules," Phoebe grumbled as she nibbled at her Panini.

"So what are you going to do?" he asked, Phoebe looked down at Punk Panini, it had all gone, still looking at her Punk began sipping on his hot drink. "This is so good, I've never had this."

The look of appreciation and surprise on Punk's face made Phoebe grin, "Not sure, might check into a hotel."

"You don't have to you know, not to brag but I do have a five bedroom home," Phoebe saw were Punk was going with this and there was no way in hell she was going to stay with Punk. She did call a truce but this wasn't what she had bargained for.

"I don't think so Punk," Phoebe grabbed her half eaten sandwich and her Starbucks and attempted to grab all of her belongings, trying to escape from Punk. She threw the laptop bag over her shoulder, placed the sandwich under her arm and hastily grabbed her suitcase and within 5 seconds she immediately lost balance and watched her Macchiato drop to the floor.

Punk staggered towards Phoebe taking the suitcase from her so she was left with her sandwich and laptop bag, "Phoebe stop being stubborn, you're my friend and well Chicago is my home. You can sleep for a couple of hours and then you can leave in the morning." Phoebe looked up from the spillage of the coffee, it wouldn't hurt to stay at his home, for free. However, she didn't appreciate his tone.

"What's the big deal, why are you so afraid?"

"I don't even know you, how can you say you're my friend? We've never even, talked."

"Well then this is the perfect time to get to know each other," Punk didn't see what the big deal was, he didn't understand Phoebe at all. He was making his way towards the exit with the suitcase still in his hand, rolling her eyes Phoebe followed him out, not liking this one bit. I bet he does this to all the girls, she thought frustrated that she had ended up here.

"Why the long face? You get to stay in a million dollar home for free, only for a couple of hours of course," Punk winked, hauling themselves a cab.

"Is this how you pick up girls?" Phoebe laughed mockingly.

"No, I don't pick up girls. I don't do that shit," Punk spoke flatly, harshness to his tone.

"Shit, Punk that's not what I meant, I mean – "

"Don't." Phoebe watched as Punk's face grew dark, she could hear the clogs and wheels in his brain churning away, thinking hard. The two sat in the back of the car while the cab driver threw the suitcases into the back.

"Thank you." Phoebe squeaked, the cab's engine roaring into life.

"Anytime." Punk replied without looking at Phoebe, staring ahead.

The cab drive to his apartment was fairly quiet and without a doubt the most awkward, Phoebe could feel Punk's eyes on her the whole journey there. Her mind drifted elsewhere as she stared out the window, Chicago was an incredible city. Beautiful during the winter, considering Phoebe had never experienced snow – it was beautiful all the same during the spring and summer periods. Night time was even better, for any city really – blinking lights and moonshine made the city all the more magical. No wonder Punk loved it here, this was home for him, a place where he felt at ease and relaxed.

By the time the cab pulled up in front of the luxury apartment Phoebe's anxiety levels began to rise, she heard Punk's doors click he had already paid for the journey and was now grabbing the luggage. Phoebe tried grabbing her own suitcase from Punk but he wasn't having any of it.

"I can't let a lady carry her suitcase, what kind of a man would I be if I did?" Punk grinned, waggling his eyebrows. Phoebe didn't say anything, she was feeling extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed already, all she needed was a warm, soft bed, she was craving sleep badly.

Punk didn't even have to get out a key, he simply turned the handle and Phoebe was surprised to see that his apartment was actually open. Before she could ask Punk called out, "Colton?"

"You're home! Yay," Phoebe recognised the man that came padding towards Punk giving him the bro hug, Phoebe brushed past him and decided to give herself her own little tour.

"Is that – " Colt's eyes followed her until she disappeared.

"Yeah." Punk spoke flatly.

"Do I even want to know?" Punk shook his head, throwing his suitcase over his shoulder; he motioned Colt to follow him into the kitchen. "She was at the airport, her hair wet, she just look so tired and frustrated, so I walked over there and you know, I thought I was doing a good thing inviting her hear. Her flight's been delayed for like 5 hours, I felt bad for her. I don't even know where she is right now."

"You invited her over?"

"What else was I supposed to do? She was freezing and alone, she looked like she needed some sleep, I was heading home, I was being a good Samaritan here!" Punk barked defensively.

"You don't think she got the wrong impression?"

"And what impression would that be?" Punk didn't know what Colt was trying to get that.

"Never mind, I missed you, you tattooed motherfucker."

Phoebe loved Punk's apartment. She loved everything on the walls, all the ornaments and collectables, she wasn't a big comic book fan, but the artwork that was plastered over the walls was fascinating. For a moment Phoebe forgot who's house this was, this only confirmed what she said to Punk at the airport, she didn't know him at all, she had no idea he was a horror fanatic, something that made her admire him a little bit more. She eventually reached the top of the stairs, she saw a couple more tradition posters, Creature From The Black Lagoon, Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, Forbidden Planet, she had no idea which room to take. The line of rooms reminded her of the Shining, she guessed the room that was slightly ajar was Punk's. She could also hear a conversation and decided to take the room opposite.

She was mistaken, this was Punk's room, and her second guess was that the room opposite was where Colt was staying. Surprisingly his room was well kept, one half of the room was covered in band posters and the other half had a shelf full of all sorts of books, and a pin board that had a variety of photographs, gig tickets, various wrestling merchandise that was scattered over the bed and several on the wall. Edging closer she looked at each individual picture. There weren't any of Amy, thank god. Many of what she could only assume was his "adoptive" family, Colt, Lars, a couple from indie days, Natalie, Phoebe recognised her from Punk's DVD. She eventually backed away and her eyes scanned the rooms again, glass cases that had some figurines and she even noticed a limited edition, signed, Jason mask. Phoebe was in awe. Her eyes glanced upon the bed, it was so neatly made up Phoebe wondered how long it had been since Punk had even slept in it. She would be stupid not to realise that Punk and Amy would've spent many nights together on that bed, she skimmed her fingers over the duvet, it was so cold -

"You've made yourself at home then?" Shit. Phoebe turned around to see Punk leaning against the door frame, a stony expression on his face.

"I was just picking a room, I had no idea that this was yours, I mean, you know, I was just looking for a room to sleep in, I'm tired, and I was just curious, I – "

"The room next door's free, you can sleep in there," Phoebe looked up the see Punk's expression soften, a smile tugged at his lips but never reached his eyes.

"Your house is amazing, I've not even seen every room yet, I'm literally in awe Punk," Phoebe smiled, pointing at various objects, even the posters and the posters that were outside the rooms.

"I love it too, I just wish I was here to live in it," Phoebe understood what Punk meant, she felt bad but then wondered what Punk would do in this large house, alone. "One day." Punk spoke surprising Phoebe, wondering what he was thinking at the time.

"I love your room too, great music taste," Phoebe whispered, looking back at the poster wall.

"I'm glad you think so." The two continued looking at each other still not saying anything, Punk had no idea why he invited Phoebe to crash here for a few hours, who was he to her anyway? Who was she to him? They barely knew each other and Punk knew that Phoebe's heart belonged to someone else's, it was no secret that she was still crushing on Dolph and he saw the look in her eyes whenever he caught her looking at him. Could Punk even class Phoebe as her friend, could Phoebe do the same?

"I'm gonna go, get some sleep. You know, thanks so much again." Phoebe walked past Punk and into the room next door, the walls were blank, completely opposite in appearance. Heaving a sigh Phoebe got changed into something comfortable, combing the wet, tangled knots that were in her hair and snuck into the bed. The window still cast some moonlight into the room but Phoebe lay awake, Punk was in the next room, probably not asleep, perhaps thinking.

Punk remained in the same spot, he hadn't spent a night in this room in ages, he wasn't planning on doing so, not for a long time at least; the room held too many memories. He noticed that his room now had an apple like scent, he hated to admit it but he did like it, he inhaled deeply and wondered how long Phoebe's scent would stay. He didn't like staying in his room for long and decided on closing the door behind him and returned back to Colt's room.

"Hey, you're back, you find her?"

"Player 2 has now entered the game."

"Yeah she was in my room, she's gone to bed," Punk needed to distraction, the game was a perfect distraction. It was WWE 10, Colt would play as Punk and Punk would play as Colt Cabana, it was something they had always done whenever Punk had returned home from the road, it was tradition.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'll get over it," Colt was worried, he had heard this many times and so had Punk's family, he was just wondering when Punk would actually get over it and mean it.

Colt heaved a sigh of desperation, "Whatever you say Phil."

Phoebe stirred in sleep, realising it was time to wake up her eyes slowly fluttered open, morning sunlight casted a warm yellow glow into the room. She drew back the covers and regretted it the moment she did, she slowly stood and climbed out of bed, muttering a curse word or two as she realised how cold it was. The window hadn't even been open, maybe this was how Punk stayed awake at night, way too cold to sleep. She made her way towards the and winced as she came into contact with the light. Letting her eyes adjust she realised that she had a wonderful view of Wicker Park. The shops, the people, the scenery above and beyond.

She looked back at the bed she had slept in, she was longing for more sleep and more warmth even though she felt more refreshed than when she was at the airport. It was the end of April, the coldness and the windiness of Chicago would soon be leaving, and replaced by sunny spells. The room was warm and comfortable but she remembered how chilly it was when she had arrived in Chicago late the night before. She was so tired and she could barely keep my eyes open. It had been a blur and she realised how glad she was that Punk was there to offer her accommodation. She was glad she decided to put aside her differences, she felt like a considerable amount of weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Yawning and stretching, she quickly checked the time to see that she was still on schedule and changed out of the clothes she slept in, she hadn't heard any noise from Punk or Colt, it was a fairly big house and there was no sign of either two that were awake. Having brushed her teeth and changed into a dress with a cardigan she padded outside of the room barefoot, hoping to see if either one was awake. She suddenly felt nervous, embarrassed even. In an hour's time she would have to be making her way towards the airport. Did she want to leave? No she wanted to hang around with CM Punk? Why? She had no idea, soon Colt would leave and so would she, and yet again Punk would be alone with his thoughts.

Phoebe made sure not to make any noise as she tiptoed down the stairs, it was a long staircase but it was stunning all the same. She was still in fascination of everything she could see, she realised that she had missed a couple of things that she hasn't noticed last night, propping her suitcase by the front door she heard noises in the kitchen.

"I hate bacon!"

"How can you hate bacon?! It's amazing!"

"Phoebe please tell Punk that bacon is amazing?"

"I'm not really a fan of bacon, sorry," Phoebe squeaked, growing shy. She had never spoke to Colt, he was an attractive man, he sitting at the table with his jean clad legs propped up on another chair, he was muscular with short hair and he was nibbling on some bacon bits, Phoebe's stomach turned.

"Hi," she spoke, peaking up at Punk.

"Hey, erm help yourself, I have bread, eggs, bacon, fruit, granola, coffee …" Punk's voice faltered as he sipped on his own cup of coffee. Phoebe made her way towards the coffee pot murmuring thanks and she placed some bread into the toaster.

"This is Scott by the way, in case you didn't know, Colt Cabana, Mr Jew, Scotty Goldman," Phoebe giggled, she perched herself on a stool.

"I know, we've met," Phoebe cleared her throat, remembering the last time she had come to Chicago to see Punk, the memory still stung, "I listen to Art of Wrestling."

"You do?" Scott's smile was infectious, it made Phoebe blush furiously, she turned to look at Punk who narrowed his eyes at the two.

"So you need a ride to the airport?" Punk asked.

"No, no, I'll get a cab, it's fine."

"I can take you," Colt offered, Punk immediately stepped in and spoke, teeth gritted, "No, that's okay, I'll take her."

"She might feel more comfortable if I take her."

"Who's she, your neighbour's mum's cat? I have a name," Phoebe didn't understand what was going on, was there something she didn't know?

Colt and Punk both smirked at her, "You sleep well last night?"

"Yes, wish I could've slept for longer," Phoebe sighed, sipping on her coffee, she turned to look at Punk who was staring at her intently, her cheeks heating in the process.

"Well, welcome to Chicago Phoebe, hope you like it this time," Punk's eyebrows scrunched together, confused what Colt meant.

She extended a hand towards him, instead he pulled her into a hug, "It was nice meeting you Scott, especially in the flesh."

"I'm gonna, get going. I've got work to do in Stamford so," Phoebe stood up from the counter top and Punk followed her, eyeing Colt suspiciously. She grabbed all of her suitcase and laptop bag, making sure she had everything and made her way out of the door and into the garage. Punk had a number of cars, a collection much like his collection of figurines. Phoebe had only spent a few hours at Punk's house and it was only to crash and she somehow felt sad, she had no intention of leaving. She wanted to stay, she was growing to like the company of Punk and Colt.

"What did Scott mean?"

"What did Scott mean when?"

"You know, when he said, this time, what happened, last time?"

"Oh." Phoebe swallowed, "I'm not sure you want to know, Punk. It doesn't even matter."

"Tell me." Phoebe squirmed uncomfortably in her chair, nerved by Punk's gaze.

"The first time I came to Chicago, was to see you, and my intention were simply to tell you about Amy, you didn't want to listen so, you know," Phoebe spared Punk the details, his face paled and he turned away from her. From then on the two were silent, Punk remembered very clearly now, it was raining that day. He had thrown her out, into the rain.

"My desire is that you leave me alone, my desire, is that you fuck off out of my life," he spoke through gritted teeth, pulling harder, tightening his grip. He ignored Phoebe's attempts to escape his grasp and the slight whimpers and squeaks. "I want you to listen to me very carefully. You are not my friend, you never will be. You're my assistant, and that is all you'll ever be – if I want something, I'll tell you and when I tell you to leave me alone, you fucking do it. When I say I don't need you, I fucking mean it."
They reached the end of the stairs and Punk kicked open the building's main entrance door, grabbing hold of Phoebe's waist he flung her outside, he watched as her body hit the concrete and the rain pummelled onto her, soaking every inch of her body.
"See you Monday, cunt."

Phoebe hadn't even realised how quick the journey was until Punk pulled up outside the terminal.

"Terminal 3, right?" Phoebe nodded. Punk's voice was hoarse, he couldn't even look at her, he opened his side door and took Phoebe's stuff out of the car, she remained seated in his car, unable to move, what was happening?

Punk knocked on the car window, stunned she pushed the door open and got out, this was it.

"Thanks Punk, this meant a lot."

"It's fine, take care."

"We'll see each other soon."

"Yeah, sure." Punk needed to get out of there, he felt physically sick, disgusted, the two nodded, exchanging awkward eye glances – they weren't at a stage to comfortably hug or even shake hands, she flashed him a small smile and grabbed all of her things, Punk stood watching as she looked smaller and smaller, until eventually she disappeared into the airport. Swallowing hard, he felt a whole emerging inside of him, a dull void that never disappeared.

He was a broken man, who had broken other people.