so I decided to do this chapter in two parts, when I actually post the second bit it'll all make sense, it's been a while since I last updated I never really have a lot of time to write the chapters but I assure you I am always eager to post them and I always love hearing from you guys so, here it is, Chapter 30, part un. Enjoy xoxoxoxoxo
Phoebe forced herself not to think about Punk; as much as she wanted to, she pushed all her desired feelings to the back of her mind, focusing on the meeting that had just finished minutes before. A dull ache in-between the bridge of her nose had begun to start when Stephanie had mentioned the scheduled kiss between AJ and CM Punk, just thinking about it had set her off in a bad mood. The headache had gotten even worse when her phone began to ring. She fished it out of her bag, checking the caller ID before answering. Nick. She groaned loudly, he was the last person that she wanted to speak to; it had taken all of Phoebe's strength to argue for Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger to keep their tag team titles at Over The Limit, however every person on the creative team had voted against it. She had argued for his sake and eventually the outcomes had been finalised, Kofi and Truth were taking the win at the next pay-per-view. She could've sworn that the other members on the senior creative team said the only reason Phoebe was supporting Nick was purely because I was "trying to get into his pants" – Phoebe could only swallow down her pride and ignore them, there was no way in hell she could say anything to their face.
Just as she was about to say hello, the voice of Nick came from the other end of the line.
"So I noticed our date didn't go as planned."
"It's not every day I get groped by a disgusting pervert. What's up, Nick?"
"Nothing, just wanted to check up on you. I miss travelling with you." Phoebe felt a wave of guilt, she felt exactly the same.
"I'll see you in a couple of days Nick, I usually come down with Stephanie to see how the shows are running, so I'll see you tag teaming with Jack soon."
She screwed her eyes shut, gritting her teeth. Just thinking about it made Phoebe feel sick, in the back of her mind she knew that at some point she had to tell him before he got the script, it was only fair. Soon
"Great, I'll see you then?"
"See you then," Phoebe hit the end call button before Nick could get a word in. She slumped against the back of the elevator, closing her eyes she listened to the irritating elevator music. She craved the few days that she had to herself, she was used to being whisked away with the hectic life that came from travelling with the superstars, so staying in was a dream.
"That bad huh?"
Phoebe's eyes snapped open. That raspy, husky voice, smooth and sarcastic – it made Phoebe's spine shiver. She didn't want to speak, she didn't even want to look at him. He had absolutely no idea the effect he had on her.
"What are you doing here? I didn't know you were going to be in the Stamford? What's going on?"
"Woah, calm it Speedy Gonzalez. For your information, I was meeting Hunter."
"About what?"
"You're awfully nosy today, I've never seen this side to you. What's got your panties in a twist today?"
He smirked at her when she huffed at him, sucking on his lip ring. When he noticed that she wasn't laughing along with him he knew something was seriously wrong. She shifted awkwardly away from him, chewing on her bottom lip similarly to him. When she realised he was staring at him her mouth formed into a small smile, he realised that she wasn't going to tell him and let it go. He leaned against the opposite side, readjusting his Chicago Cubs cap; he noticed that this one was getting awfully tattered.
"What have you done to your hand?"
Phoebe yelped, staring at the swollen and reddened hand that was now shoved into the pockets of his hoodie. She jumped over to where he was standing and yanked his hand out. She observed it closely, tracing the section where it was most swollen, when he winced she let go, her heart swelled.
"Adam gave me a rough time in the ring."
"Bullshit! Punk you can't even move your hand, tell me what the fuck happened!"
"Nothing, alright would you let it go? It'll be alright in a couple of days."
"Punk, stop being so stubborn! At least have a doctor have a look at it, tell me what's got your hand so swollen."
He decided to ignore her hoping she would stop relenting him about it, however she carried on inquiring him about his hand. It was strange, in his head he thought, what's it to her, why does she even give a shit and another part of him liked how she cared about him so much, how she cared about every little thing that was hurting him while he was in pain. Eventually he gave in, he turned towards her and spoke.
"While Nick was looking after you at the club when you were unconscious, I went off and found the guy that harassed you and decided to give him a lesson teach him how to treat a lady with respect. Phoebe swallowed. Considering the fact that she worked for the WWE, ironically she was completely against violence. The fact that Punk had done that for her made her heart beat a little faster, she couldn't help but feel her lips curl into a smile. She was overwhelmed by happiness her eyes began to sparkle and it didn't go unnoticed by Punk.
"You are such an idiot." She eventually coughed out.
"Wow, most people would say thank you, but whatever."
Punk turned away from her and faced the doors, Phoebe let out an exasperated sigh and was still stunned by what Punk had just told her. She watched him repeatedly press the ground floor button, clearly he couldn't wait to get out of here. He had spent a great deal of time trying to not think about Phoebe either, she was beautiful and from what he could see, she was looking like she had something on her mind, as much as he wanted to tease her she just didn't seem to be in the mood. Best be to leave it, he thought. A couple moments passed and the elevator had come to a violent stutter, the lights flickering on and off, a groaning came from beneath them, and then silence.
"What's just happened, what's wrong?"
"I don't know."
"Well, what's going on?"
"How am I supposed to know?" Punk snapped.
Phoebe rolled her eyes and kept her mouth shut, Punk muttering, "The lift's stuck."
"For fuck's sake, are you joking?"
"No I'm fucking not, we are stuck in this elevator."
"Goddamnit. Is there an emergency phone, or something we can press to get help?" Punk's eyes scanned all of the buttons in front of him, a red one stood out for him and he pressed it repeatedly hoping that help was on its way.
"Try and call Stephanie." Punk demanded.
"No service."
Punk checked his phone as if Phoebe wasn't reassuring enough, he quickly slipped it back into his pants when he realised that there was no service.
"What the fuck are we going to do?" Phoebe balled up her hair in exasperation, every time she turned to look at Punk he shrugged nonchalantly, angering Phoebe even more.
"Stop stressing, someone will come get us. If the power's out in the elevator then it's out in the entire building, and WWE can't possibly run if there's no power."
"Could you just be serious for one minute?"
"You really need to calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down!"
Punk realised he might have struck a nerve and decided it was best to just keep his mouth shut, this really must have been the icing on the cake for Phoebe on top of all the stress. He leaned back, smirking at the frantic looking Phoebe in front of him.
"This isn't funny, Punk."
This only encourage Punk to laugh at her even more.
She scowled in his direction before slumping to the floor, "I honestly, cannot be bothered anymore. This day just keeps getting worse and worse."
"You wanna tell me what's going on?"
She bit her lip as she looked up at him.
"You can't tell anyone Punk, but I just had a meeting with Creative and I tried so hard but at Over The Limit, Nick and Jake are losing there titles."
"So what's the problem? This is their job, it's not a big deal."
"It is a big deal to Nick, for so long I have promised him a push and I've still yet to give him one, he's helped me so much and he's going to be so pissed at me for letting him down. I've just gotten his hopes up for nothing, I can just hear like, everyone on the creative team taking the piss out of me and making fun of me behind my back. It's been 6 months since I've been working in the creative department, I just don't understand why they're acting like this, none of them take me seriously and I'm just sick of it. I'm just tired and I've not even eaten today, I'm starving and I just want my bed."
Punk reached into his pocket and pulled out a large Hershey's chocolate bar that hadn't been opened, he handed to chocolate to her knowing it would put a smile on her face. He watched her eyes grow in surprise, then silently take the bar from him ripping it violently she shoved 4 pieces in at a time.
"You really should take it slow, breathe woman!" Punk let out a throat laugh, chuckling when she smiled with chocolate in her mouth.
"Thank you so much, Punk," she mumbled, still stuffing chocolate in her mouth. "This has made my day."
"It's alright, you're welcome."
She left roughly 3 pieces and handed it back to him, he stuck it back in his pocket in case she wanted more, a smile now beamed on her face as they shared a comfortable silence.
"We'll get out of here, don't worry."
"Ever the optimist."
"Someone has to be."
"I just wouldn't expect you to be the voice of reason."
"Voice of the voiceless."
"You're so goddamn cringe."
"Someone will come and find us soon."
"How are you so sure?"
"I'm CM Punk and Paul is probably still waiting for me outside, plus the lights are still out, he's going to notice I haven't come out the building and will hold a search party, I don't know I just do."
"You're so modest."
"I try."
"This is awful, what if the elevator just suddenly drops to the bottom and crashes and explodes or something, oh my god, Punk."
"Look, I know you're a creative writer and your brain is a portal of incredible imagination but don't you think you're exaggerating just a bit? Either that or you've been watching way too many bad action movies, like Marine or 12 Rounds."
"A little farfetched, wasn't it?"
"Just a tad," he smiled.
"Are you still worrying about Nick?"
Her smile faltered a little before she responded, "I just don't know how he's going to take it, I feel awful."
"If he knew how much you were worrying about him I doubt he'll be mad at you."
Phoebe didn't look so reassured however she dropped the subject, "And about the guys in creative, fuck them. Who gives a fuck what they think about you, you don't need them, trust me. They need you more then you need them and if you weren't on the team they'd still be doing the lame ass story lines they always do. I'm your friend, just like Nick is your friend and April and Mike, Matt, Paige, Cena, Kofi, we've all got your back, you know this. Just keep moving forward and don't give a shit about what anybody thinks. Do what you have to do for you."
Phoebe stood stunned at Punk's words, "Punk, thank you, I really appreciate this. I'm here for you guys as well, well yeah, I'm here for you and them as well, I don't know."
Punk smirked.
"I can't believe you punched that guy for me Phil, at least let me take care of your hand after we've gotten out of here, it's the least I can do. Thank you, you really didn't have to do that for me."
"He was a disgusting low-life with no respect for women, people like that make me so angry, who the hell do they think they are?"
"Not everyone's a sweetheart like you."
"Woah, no one else is supposed to know that. Thanks a lot, Phoebe."
"Why do you act like such an asshole all the time? You don't need to be a jerk to everybody, let people know about your soft, sweet, caring side."
"I've been fucked over way too many times, betrayed, I don't know. A lot of people have broken my trust and I find it easier to just act like a dick, it's my only defense against incredibly stupid people, it's all I have."
"No it isn't," Phoebe whispered.
"I have serious trust issues, you know this. Shit happens, I mean you've seen my DVD I don't have to explain it to you, without getting into nasty details."
"I'm sorry."
"Stop, Phoebe. It's fine. You asked me a valid question and I answered honestly, you don't need to pity me. I'm just never going to apologise for who I am, if people don't like it - "
"Fuck them."
They looked at each other and shared a genuine laugh. Phoebe admired the way he looked when he laughed, he was no longer Punk, the bittersweet lovable jerk, he just seemed like a regular guy she could easily get along with.
"In all seriousness I know you don't want to hear it but I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you, your whole life. Your dad, your brother, every person that said you'd never make it."
"You're cute, it's fine don't sweat it. My problems not yours, people have had it way worse than I have. Ironic really isn't it, I turned out to be an asshole like them."
"I know the real you. You've apologised and I've accepted it. You're nothing like those people Punk, you're wonderful, handsome, charming, witty, you really do underestimate yourself."
Punk shrugged.
"I know I'm all of those things, thanks for reminding me."
"You are such an ass."
"No I'm, wonderful, handsome, charming and witty, remember?"
Phoebe playfully punched his arm, she stretched out her petite legs and shrugged off her blazer placing it over her like blanket. Punk raised his eyebrow and gave her a strange look.
"You don't know how long we're gonna be here," she yawned.
"Tired, huh?"
"We're not all insomniacs."
"So, what's Phoebe doing tonight?"
"You mean if someone finds us and gets us out of here, nothing really, why?"
"You're not going to that dumb evening dinner with Stephanie and Hunter?"
"No, I don't want to be around those idiots in creative, how do you know about that anyway?"
"Hunter invited me. I was asking, in case you wanna catch a movie. I'm staying in Stamford overnight."
"I'd love to, would April be okay, you make it sound like a date."
"Don't flatter yourself sweetheart, it's not a date. It's just two friends watching a movie. And besides I'll do what I want, why should it be any concern of April's what I do, she doesn't dictate my actions just like I don't dictate hers."
"Sounds like a loving relationship."
His lips curled into a smile.
"You really don't like the people you work with, do you?"
"Do you?"
"I never used to, but I'm a stubborn motherfucker. I've always liked keeping myself to myself because that's all I've ever done, it's all I know. But these guys are really cool; they're not in it for the money, not most of them anyway. Wrestling is there passion, it's in their blood and I 100% admire that. I see it when I'm wrestling with them and even when I'm out of the ring. We've got a common ground and I appreciate that. I see it in mostly everyone here to be honest, I see it in you. We're all in this together and you're so passionate with writing as well as wrestling, you use both of them and merge them into one. Boom. You know what the fans want and what makes them happy, you're surprisingly easy to work with and you care about what the wrestlers want as well."
She smiled shyly at him, flattered by his words.
"Thanks, you're right I mean everything you've said is true. Wrestling has always been my passion, it's the same story for everyone that's in this business. I actually can't believe I'm here sometimes, it's almost like it's worth it, you know, all the people that are horrible and nasty during work. I'm working for world wrestling entertainment for god's sake. I've worked hard and so has everyone else. I deserve just as much."
The two looked at each other and smiled, all cards had been laid out onto the table as if they finally stood one another. Being stuck in the elevator with Punk was somewhat comforting and make feel Phoebe feel tranquil, no longer being an inconvenience. Phoebe didn't know it yet but she felt her heart soar, like she had really fallen for him, the feeling just kept coming back every time she denied any of them. The two were sat incredibly close, their arms touched and her head now rested on his strong shoulder. The two relished the moment silently until they saw the doors being pried open, the handyman peered through the slit and yelled.
"He's in here, sir."
"Get that darn thing open," Hunter's voice boomed. "Phil, Phoebe, are you okay?"
"Thank fuck," Punk grinned muttering softly to Phoebe who beamed a smile at him. "Everything's alright Paul, if it had been a minute longer you would've found our carcasses."
"Everything's fine, sir thank you." Phoebe sighed a sigh of relief the moment she stepped onto the marble flooring outside of the lift, the claustrophobia had gotten to her and the fresh air had done her some good. Punk stepped up behind her and rubbed her shoulder in comfort. Both the handyman and Hunter had apologized and apologized until Punk groaned in frustration.
"It's fine, it's okay. Shit happens," two men seemed reassured meanwhile Punk leaned down to whisper in Phoebe's ear.
"Wanna get out of this shithole?"