Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Fourteen

Her back and shoulders hurt worse than she'd let anyone know, and her head still ached from the way Jeff had grabbed her by the hair to yank her to her feet.

Taking a deep breath, Eve dropped her face into her hands, the diva sitting quietly on the end of her bed. She'd taken a shower after she and Kelly had gotten back to the hotel... Well, she'd taken one after managing to convince the younger diva that she was okay to be alone. The blonde had offered to hang out as long as she'd needed, but Eve had managed to convince her she was fine. And then, once Kelly had left, she'd gone and taken a shower, pretending even to herself that the water on her face was all from the shower and not from her own tears. She'd almost had herself convinced until she'd let out a sob. In the end, Eve had indulged in a good cry, telling herself that she needed one, and telling herself that it didn't really count if no one else was around to see it. In fact, if she wanted to, it would be perfectly fine to cry right now. As long as she wanted to.

Well, she could if she ignored the knock that had just sounded on her door.

Frowning, Eve rose to her feet, a quick glance toward the nightstand telling her that it was after midnight. The show was long since over now, everyone probably getting back to their hotel rooms - or already there - which meant that, if someone was at the door, it could be any number of people. Of course, the person was knocking rather gently rather than pounding on the door or yelling in an attempt to get her attention, which told Eve that it most likely wasn't Maria or Jeff. Thank goodness. She'd just ignore the knock if it was them, of course, but it was better all around if the two of them just left her alone. It could be Kelly, she knew. The blonde had actually called to check on her earlier, and Eve wouldn't put it past her to stop by. It could even be Melina, since the dark-haired diva had actually stood up for her earlier and even texted to make sure she was okay. It could be any number of people, really. But despite all of that, despite all of the people Eve tried to tell herself it could be, she wasn't the least bit surprised by who it was that stood outside her hotel room door, because she'd known deep down that it would be him.

Quickly, she unhooked the chain, then unlocked the deadbolt before opening the door, offering what she knew wasn't going to pass as a very convincing smile. "Hey."

CM Punk nodded in response, flicking a look around as if to make sure no one was coming... Something she supposed she should be doing. It wouldn't be good if the fact that she'd been hanging around with Punk at all over the past month somehow got out. "Can I come in?" he asked, his voice low, and Eve nodded, quickly stepping back and holding the door open wider to let him inside the room. The man stepped inside quickly, glancing around once last time as he did so to make sure no one was seeing them together... Eve closed the door behind him, going through the motions of locking the deadbolt and the chain without even thinking about what she was doing, then turning to look at the man behind her, watching as he tugged the hood from his sweatshirt back, then jerked a hand through his messy dark hair.

"Sorry for just showing up like this," he said, and Eve shook her head.

"Don't be. I wasn't asleep or anything."

Punk nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets as he looked at her. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. After tonight," he told her, and Eve shrugged, the diva having to fight the urge to cringe as she did so. Yeah, her shoulder was definitely not feeling good at the moment.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because Maria acted like a bitch and attacked you from behind... and then Jeff Hardy did the same thing," Punk replied, then sighed. "Sorry I didn't get there in time."

"It's not your fault. And it probably would have looked bad if you'd helped me," Eve said quietly. "I'm okay anyway. I was kind of surprised when the person that helped me *wasn't* you, though. Not that I..." She shook her head. "I just didn't think John Cena of all people would step in."

"Well, the guy does like to play the hero. Which, in this case, I'm glad. Jeff had no business putting his hands on you."

"It might be a good thing," Eve told him, shaking her head when he opened his mouth to protest that comment. "Think about it. People in the back saw what he did. Maybe now some people will understand when I turn against him. More than you and Kelly, anyway."

"You still plan to do that?"

"After tonight? Why wouldn't I?" she asked, turning away from him for a moment to go and grab a bottle of water from the mini-fridge in the hotel room. She glanced over her shoulder at Punk as she knelt down. "You want one?" she questioned, holding up the water, then frowning at the look on his face. "Punk? You want some water?"

The man shook himself slightly, looking at the bottles in her hand, then nodding. "Yeah, thanks," he said, watching as she shut the refrigerator and taking the bottle of water that she offered him. He opened the bottle and took a drink of water, his expression oddly fierce, and Eve frowned again, the diva looking a bit confused.

"What is it? What did I do?"

"It's not what you did. It's what he did," Punk said, eyeing the confused look on Eve's face, then heaving out a sigh and putting down the bottle of water before reaching out for Eve, taking her carefully by the arm and pulling her toward the mirror in the room. He positioned her so that her back was to the mirror, then pulled her hair out of the way. "Look at your shoulder," he told her, and Eve frowned, then turned her head so that she could see the reflection of her back in the mirror, the diva instantly able to see what it was that had caught Punk's attention. Because she was dressed for bed at the moment in a tank top and shorts, more of her back and shoulders were visible than usual, making it easy to see the bruise that had formed on her left shoulder.

She blinked at the sight of it. Eve had known she was sore, but not that she had a bruise from what had happened earlier. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." He gestured toward her bed. "Go sit down. Do you have any ice?"

The diva pointed toward the hotel-provided ice bucket. She'd gone and filled it earlier, and she'd meant to put the ice in the mini-fridge, but had somehow managed to get distracted and forget it. CM Punk's gaze followed to where Eve was pointing, and he nodded slightly, going into the bathroom to grab a hand towel before going over to where she'd left the ice. He quickly put some into the towel, twisting up the ends of the towel to keep the ice from falling out, then made his way over to where Eve sat. When she reached for the makeshift ice pack that Punk had just made for her, he shook his head, gesturing for her to turn a bit, which she did, blinking in surprise when he sat down on the bed as well, carefully shifting the strap of her tank top to the side before putting the towel filled with ice against her aching shoulder. The ice had already started melting a bit thanks to the fact that she'd left it sitting out, which meant the towel was already a bit wet.

"Anything the towel touches will end up wet, but it's the best I can do for now," Punk told her, and Eve sighed.

"It's not a big deal. It's just a bruise-"

"That Jeff Hardy put on you."

"I know. And I'm not excusing what he did. He acted like an ass. I didn't deserve to be flung around like a damned rag doll."

"No, you didn't. And I'm not the only one that agrees with you there. I'm not much of a John Cena fan, but I've got to say... He looked ready to rip Hardy's head off earlier. Can't say I'm opposed to that happening. I'd just rather do it myself," Punk said, still holding the makeshift ice pack to Eve's shoulder with one hand... The other hand coming up as well, his fingers gently moving over the skin of her back that was left exposed by her tank top. "Any other really sore spots?" he questioned, fingers still sliding over her skin, and Eve had to fight the urge to shiver at his touch, which was silly, really. He wasn't even *doing* anything. He was just trying to figure out if she was hurt.

"I'm okay. I hadn't even realized that I had a bruise," she said, pausing for a moment, then looking back over her shoulder at him, momentarily surprised by just how close he was... Which was stupid. She'd known full well that he was sitting right behind her. Obviously he would be close. She just hadn't actually expected him to be quite that close to her, their faces only inches apart. And it wouldn't have gotten her so much if he hadn't been looking at her face, but when she'd turned her head he'd raised his eyes from her shoulder and now her gaze was locked with his, and... Eve swallowed hard, offering him a small smile. "You're the one that had the match tonight, not me. Shouldn't I be asking if you're okay?"

"Yeah, but I expected to have a match tonight. I expected the bumps and bruises. You... You didn't have a match, and you were attacked backstage. First by Maria, then by Jeff."

"Most people aren't going to consider what Jeff did to me to be an actual attack," the diva mused, shaking her head slightly. "A lapse in judgment perhaps."

"Eve-"

"I'm just telling you how others are going to look at it, and you know it. Yes, Cena was angry about it. Yes, Melina stood up for me. But how many people are going to look at it as more than an isolated incident?" she asked, and CM Punk sighed.

"I guess I see what you're saying. But still... Now that they've seen that incident, they may look a little closer at how he treats you. And if he has any brains left in his head - any that the drugs haven't forever screwed up - then maybe he'll be smart enough to realize that he'd better be careful how he treats you. People may notice if he acts like a jerk, at least in public. In private, though-"

"I'm never around him in private. Not anymore," Eve told him. "I go to shows with Kelly. At the shows, I hang out in the divas' locker room instead of staying in his locker room."

Punk shook his head. "And no one's bothered to ask you why. Why you don't want to spend any time with the man you manage," he muttered, and Eve shrugged her shoulders, wincing slightly at the pull of the sore muscles. CM Punk frowned at her reaction. "How sore are you really?"

"It's not that bad. I just kind of wasn't thinking about it being there," she told him, flicking a look at him again, once more meeting his eyes... But this time, for some reason, she couldn't think of something to say to break to silence, and she couldn't look away, either, her eyes locked on his, the diva knowing that her expression was probably a bit uncertain while his... His was intense. Very intense, and as he looked at her, his face was getting closer and then...

Then he was kissing her.

The position wasn't the most comfortable since he was sitting behind her and she was looking back over her shoulder at him, but she didn't pull away from him, didn't break the kiss, instead twisting slightly, trying to make the position less of a - literal - pain in the neck as she kissed him back, the diva not at all sure what had prompted him to kiss her but not about to question it. Not about to push him away. She felt his hand move up into her hair, then back down, fingers grazing the side of her neck, running down her shoulder, then her arm, the slight touch causing her to shiver slightly... Her eyes slipping open as he broke the kiss, though his face was still near hers, so close she could feel his breath as he looked into her eyes. Without thinking, she licked her lips, his gaze moving to her mouth and, for a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her again... And she was pretty sure that she wouldn't mind it if he did. He didn't, though, instead shifting back from her, the look on his face telling her that he was reluctant to do so.

"I didn't come here planning that," he said quietly, dragging his gaze from her mouth to instead look her in the eyes. "Just so you know. I... I really just came to check on you. I didn't..."

Her gaze dropped, the diva taking a deep breath before turning away from him. "Are you trying to tell me that was a mistake?" she wanted to know, not wanting to look at him as she asked the question because she didn't want him to see the hurt on her face if he said yes.

"It was only a mistake if it messes up things between us," CM Punk said quietly, and Eve frowned as she turned to face him, this time moving her entire body instead of just looking back over her shoulder at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... I want you to trust me. And if that... If you think that I'm trying to take advantage of you or-"

"You kissed me. You didn't... You didn't do anything wrong," she replied, then looked at him, meeting his eyes. "I didn't push you away. I kissed you back."

That drew a slight smile from the world heavyweight champion. "I guess you're right about that. And here I thought you were mad at me," he said, and Eve winced at that, the diva lifting her hand to run her fingers over his face, touching his cheek where she'd slapped him earlier.

"I'm sorry. For hitting you earlier. It was uncalled for-"

"You were mad. I get that. And I should have warned you about what I planned to do. I just... I wanted to protect you, and um... I didn't stop to think about how you would feel about that. About me just taking over and not letting you make the decision." He shook his head. "It wasn't fair. At the very least, I should have warned you... And then you could have told me what you had planned. If I'd known you were planning to turn against him tonight..."

"I wasn't even sure how I was going to do it. If I'd get him disqualified or 'accidentally' hit him with something or..." She shook her head. "I just... I wanted to do it. And I will. Pick the right time, the right place. Maybe enjoy watching you beat him up for a few more weeks."

"Eve-"

"I figure if you're out there, I'm less likely to get hurt," she told him, and he frowned slightly, his gaze moving to her shoulder.

"He shouldn't have touched you tonight."

"But he did. And people stood up for me. Plus, I'm okay. I can deal. I'm glad you came to check on me, though," Eve said, the diva eyeing him for a moment, before leaning forward and pressing her lips against his, keeping the kiss short and sweet. He gave her a slight smile as they broke apart.

"I'm glad I came, too. But I better go. The more time we spend together..."

"The more of a chance someone sees us," she finished, and Punk nodded.

"Yeah... And that would kind of ruin the surprise when you finally turn against Jeff," he said, then gave her a smile. "And I've got to admit, I'm looking forward to the look on his face when that happens," Punk told her, and Eve couldn't help but smile as well.

"So am I."