Chapter 2: Backstage
April was in awe as she walked around the backstage area of NXT. Sure it was small since it was filmed at a college but she was so happy to be here. This might be as close as she could get to her dream.
"You look like Charlie when he first walked into the chocolate factory" Langston laughed
"I can't get over this" April said with a smile as some of the wrestlers walked past her. "Oh my god" she froze gripping Langston's large arm "Is that Triple H?"
"We just call him Paul" Langston laughed at his star struck friend.
"Is Kane here?" April asked eagerly. She was a huge Kane fan growing up.
"Nah" Langston shrugged "This is just a small show"
"Well once you get famous you better take me to real shows" April warned him
"Of course" Langston said to her "I need to go in and get changed" he said stopping at the men's locker room
"Ok what should I do?" April asked nervously
"Catering is down the hall just grab a bite to eat" Langston said to her
"I'm on a liquid fast" April said to him and Langston screwed his eyes at her "Jason said I need to be on a fast" she said to him seriously
"I don't understand how you can train to wrestle without eating real food" Langston said shaking his head "Don't get lost now kid, I'll come get you when I'm done"
"Alright" she said walking down the hall towards catering but making sure to absorb everything as she did.
"Careful" she heard a voice say. She turned around and saw the man that she hadn't been able to stop thinking of since she met him. "We don't want you crashing into anyone back here not everyone is as nice as I am" Punk remarked with a sly grin
"Hi there" April said tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She was sporting tight jeans with a studded belt, a comic book t-shirt and her chucks.
"Are you a big X-Men fan?" he asked noting her Phoenix t-shirt
"Yep" April said proudly than noticed his shirt "You're a Thor fan?"
"I'm a fan of all comics but yea I'm partial to Thor" Punk said to her
"I wasn't expecting to see you here tonight" April admitted
"Yea well I missed my flight this morning and thought I'd stick around for the show" he shrugged "So is this your first time?"
"Backstage? Yes" April said to him "Is it that obvious?"
"Yes" Punk replied quickly "So where are you headed to?"
"Catering" April said to him and he nodded for her to follow him towards the room.
"There's better stuff at Raw and live events" Punk said eyeing the food laid with disgust "What are you eating?"
"Oh nothing" April said to him and he eyed her "My trainer as me on a liquid diet"
"Oh well of course because you really need to lose some weight" he teased and saw her face fall "I'm just teasing" he added quickly "So where do you train?" he asked taking a seat with her at a table
"It's a little school not far from John's gym" April told him "It's just a gym and in the back they have classes"
"Sounds nice" Punk remarked sarcastically
"Well I can by the class which is nice" April smiled lightly
"So you waitress during the day and train to wrestle at night, interesting" Punk smirked giving April his full attention
"Just like a superhero" April teased "I came to Tampa for a school but it got to be too much so I dropped out" she admitted and Punk nodded
"You always wanted to wrestle?" Punk questioned
"Since I could walk" April said with a happy smile recalling the memory "I can't think of anything else I want"
"Is that why you're so friendly with Langston and the other guys?" Punk asked bluntly catching her by surprise
"You think I'm using them?" April asked slightly offended and Punk just shrugged
"It's a logical question" Punk pointed out innocently
"If I wanted to get here" April said gesturing to the backstage area "I would have done what a lot of women do to get here- sleep my way to the top" she shot at him "I love to wrestle and as long as I'm doing that it doesn't matter if it's in front of five thousand people or just five" she defended then stood up "It was nice seeing you again Punk" she then walked out of catering not sure where she was going to go
"April wait" Punk said walking towards her "I didn't mean to insult you" he said to her
"Really? You ask a question like that and you don't think it's insulting?" April asked folding her arms
"It was just a question" Punk said quietly "I'm sorry"
"I'm on my own here Punk" April admitted "Do you think I like busting tables or living pay check to pay check? No. But I do it because I know what I want and I'm going to do it without anyone's help"
"I respect that" Punk said to her honestly
"Langston is one of my few friends here" April admitted "And if I get to spend time with him here than that's just an added bonus"
"Ok" Punk said with a slow head nod "I really don't know you that well and I jumped the gun a bit I really do apologize" he said to her sincerely
"Apology accepted" April said to "We're even now" she said to him and he gave her a confused look "You know for ruining your shirt last night"
"Oh don't worry about that" Punk said to her "So have you ever seen the control room?"
"Where all the cameras are set up?" she asked and he nodded "No"
"Come with me" he said nodding for her to join him and she plastered on a smile and followed him.
Punk took April on a tour of the entire backstage area, which wasn't much, but it was still cool. He introduced her to almost everyone who greeted him including the former tag team champions The New Age Outlaws.
"There you are" Langston said jogging towards April "I thought I said hang around catering"
"Sorry I stole her for a bit" Punk said to him and Langston hadn't noticed him at first "I took her on a tour hope you don't mind"
"Not at all" Langston said "I just didn't want her to get lost" he teased looking down towards April
"I should go get to my seat" April said to them "Thanks for the tour Punk, Langston I'll be out there cheering you on" she assured him then walked towards the front row
"I didn't think you'd be here man" Langston said
"Yea thought I'd hang around a bit" Punk shrugged
"She's single" Langston said to him and Punk let out a laugh
"That's nice" Punk said to him "She's not my type though"
"Yea I mean she's a video game playing nerd who loves wrestling and comics" Langston said in a serious voice "Polar opposite of you" he added sarcastically
"She's nice" Punk shrugged "I'm just trying to be nicer to the fans"
"Oh that's what this is" Langston laughed "You're just doing your part for the fans?"
"Exactly" Punk said with a sigh that Langston finally caught on
"It has nothing to do with the fact that April is a very pretty woman?" Langston asked
"I hadn't even noticed" Punk said surprised "I suppose she's alright. What's her story anyway?"
"What do you mean?" Langston asked amused
"She mentioned she doesn't really have anyone out here" Punk said to him "No family?"
"Yea she does. Her parents and sister live in Puerto Rico and her brother is in the army" Langston said to him "She came to Tampa from Jersey because she wanted the best wrestling opportunity and Puerto Rico wasn't going to offer that to her"
"Hmm" Punk said absorbing the information "Is she good?"
"In bed?" Langston asked stunned
"No you idiot" Punk groaned "Wrestler- can she actually wrestler?"
"Oh yea" Langston said with an almost smug smile "She had a show at high school gym two weeks ago that I went to and she was insane" he said enthusiastically
"She's small" Punk noted folding his arms
"She's got great flexibility though" Langston said to him seriously "She's great at submission moves she can also work a crowd" Punk just nodded
"She has a match tomorrow night" Langston said to him "It's nothing big but I'm going to try to make it out you should to if you're still in town"
"I was going to fly out tomorrow" Punk said to him
"You said that yesterday" Langston pointed out "You might as well stay the week. Isn't Raw in Tampa on Monday?"
"Yea" Punk said to him "I don't know I'll think about it"
"You should see her work" Langston said seriously "She might surprise you" he then walked off
"She just might" Punk said moving the curtain slightly and saw April sitting happily in the first row.
After the show April was backstage again waiting for Langston to shower and finish up. She was leaning against the wall and looked over and saw Punk chatting casually with Triple H. She still couldn't believe she was backstage right now around all of these legends. Once Punk was done talking to Hunter he made his way back over to April.
"Did you enjoy the show?" Punk asked her
"Yea I really did" April said to him "Langston was great"
"He was" Punk agreed "Are you going to be at Raw Monday? We're here in Tampa"
"Yea I got a ticket" April said to him "I had to beg for the night off from work though it's costing me a double shift Tuesday"
"It'll be worth it" Punk said to her "It's going to be a good show"
"Really? You already know what's going to happen?" April asked eagerly
"No I just know it's going to be good because I'm going to be there" Punk grinned smugly
"Well obviously the WWE champion has to be there" April said to him "I'm really looking forward to it"
"Maybe I'll throw my shirt out to you in audience" Punk teased
"Unless you have a rocket launcher that's not going to happen" April laughed "I could barely afford the tickets I got"
"Well I can take care for that" Punk said to her "Being champion has perks"
"That's ok" April said to him "I'll see everything just fine from the top"
"Are you sure?" Punk asked
"Yep" April said confidently "But thanks anyway"
"April are you ready?" Langston asked coming out of the locker room with his bag
"Yea" April said to him "You can drop me off at the gym right?"
"At this time?" Langston asked giving her an unsure face
"I have to practice before work in the morning" April reminded him giving him a look that terrified him
"Whatever you want kid" Langston said quickly
"Yea Langston mentioned you have a match tomorrow night" Punk said to her
"Yea I'm pretty excited" April said to him "It's nothing big but I haven't had a match in a week"
"I actually invited Punk to the show" Langston said to her and April looking horrified
"What?" Punk asked with a laugh "I can't watch you wrestle? Do I make you nervous?"
"No of course not" April said shaking her head "But you're the WWE champion"
"Yea I am" Punk agreed with a nod "So?"
"You don't want to sit in a smelly gym with twenty other people" April said to him
"I used to be the guy who wrestled in the gym" Punk pointed out "I'd love to go" he said looking past April over to Langston
"Really?" Langston asked surprised
"Yea why not?" Punk shrugged "Looking forward to it. See you both than" he said shooting April a wink then walked away.
"I'm going to kill you" April said getting into the car with Langston
"What?" Langston laughed "He likes you"
"How am I going to wrestle with the WWE champion watching me?" April asked him
"You don't have stage freight" Langston pointed out "You'll be fine"
"And he doesn't like me" April said to him "He basically accused me of latching on to you for fame"
"He's just blunt" Langston said to her "And if he didn't like you he wouldn't have spent time with you tonight" he said as he kept his eyes on the road
"He just felt bad for insulting me" April defended with a huff looking out the car window
"Trust me kid Punk doesn't feel bad when he insults anybody" Langston chuckled "I think he actually likes you. Actually I think he likes you more than me"
"Don't be an idiot" April scoffed
"Seriously the guy was supposed to be home today but I told him you'd be here tonight and look where he showed up" Langston pointed out
"He's CM Punk" April said to him
"And you're Miss. April" Langston shot back "You're damn good at what you do and getting noticed by the top guy in WWE isn't such a bad thing"
"He probably won't even show" April said to him
"Probably not" Langston agreed "Just focus on your match" he said pulling up outside the dime gym "Are you sure Jason is here?"
"Yep" April said unlocking her seatbelt and kissing Langston on the cheek "Thanks for the show tonight you rocked"
"If you need a ride home call me" Langston said to her before she closed the door
"I'm just going to work through the night" April said to him "I have the morning shift tomorrow anyway"
"Alright" Langston said and waited for someone to unlock the gym door for her. She waved towards Langston and headed inside.
April quickly ran into the bathroom and got changed. She was ready to work her butt off tonight especially if Punk was going to show up which she still wasn't sure he was going to do.
"April" a large man said. There was hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Sorry I'm late Jason" April said to him "Langston went on late"
"You're always late" Jason groaned "I've got plenty of people who really want this"
"I know and I take it seriously I'm sorry" April said to him giving him her best doe eyes
"Whatever" he said shaking his head then extended his hand out to her.
"Oh right" she said reaching into her pocket and pulling out some cash. She watched as he counted it and he gave her a look.
"This is fifty" Jason said holding up the money
"I know, I know but I've had a rough week" April said but Jason wasn't hearing it he rolled his eyes and walked over to his jacket and put it on "Please just wait" she begged chasing after him. "I broke some dishes at work and Hector took it out of my check I'll have the rest of the money tomorrow after work."
"This is the second time this month" Jason said annoyed looking down at her
"I know like I said I'm working on it" April said to him "I really need this extra time please"
"There are other ways you can work off your bill April" Jason reminded her running his finger down her bare arm
"Yea I know" April said quietly "I'm not doing that" she said jerking away and Jason just nodded
"Fine" Jason said tossing his jacket on the chair "Two hours tonight"
"Two hours!" April shouted "I'm short fifteen dollars!"
"Two hours or something more" Jason said folding his arms
"Fine" April sighed "Two hours"
"And if you keep this up I'm going to start charging interest" Jason warned her "Not many guys would do this for you without taking advantage"
"Right" April muttered "Let's just get started"
It was close to two in the morning when April made it back home. Her apartment was tiny and hot- very hot. She didn't have AC put in since she couldn't afford it and her electricity was turned off almost a month ago. But April never let it bother her. Her one room apartment that had a small stove in the corner, a couch that was used a bed and a bathroom the size of the closet was her home and she loved it. She was proud of being here on her own without the help of her family and she knew it would all pay off for her eventually.
The next morning April practically ran to work that was located six blocks away. If she ran she knew it would be quicker than waiting for a bus. As soon as April arrived at work Hector was waiting behind the counter.
"Thank you for joining us April" Hector groaned eyeing the petite waitress. "Do you like having a job?"
"Yes I do" April insisted "I'm sorry but alarm didn't go off-"
"Does it ever?" Hector asked "And why do you look like you ran a marathon?"
"Because I ran here" April admitted
"April you're going to have to step it up" Hector said to her "I know you're a good kid and that's why I keep you around and I appreciate that this isn't your dream job but you still show up and try but I need you to try a bit harder"
"I will I swear" April said thankful that Hector was seemingly having a good morning and was letting this go.
"Great" Hector said "The gentlemen at table six is requesting your service" he said to her and she looked surprised
"Seriously?" April asked him
"Yea I couldn't believe it either" Hector snorted "He must have a thing for bad service"
"Ha- ha" April remarked sarcastically as she tied her apron around her waist and made her way over to the table "Hi how can I help you?" she asked already with a pad out and a pen in her hand.
"I'll take a coffee" Punk said looking up at her
"Punk" April said surprised "What are you doing here?"
"I admire good service" Punk shrugged "Also you didn't tell me where you were wrestling tonight"
"You're really going to come?" April asked him
"Yep" Punk said to her "But I need to know where it is"
"Oh ok" April said writing down the address and passing it to him "Here you go"
"Thanks" Punk said looking the address and slipping the paper into his pocket "So how did training go last night?"
"It was good" April said to him "Do you want anything other than coffee?"
"How are the pancakes here?" Punk asked her glancing at the menu
"They're good" April said hesitantly
"But?" Punk questioned
"But the waffles are ten times better" April said to him with a smile "They're my favorite"
"I'll take those than" Punk said passing her the menu
"Ok" April said jotting it down.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing you tonight" Punk added before April could walk away. She was so happy her back was to him so he wouldn't see the goofy smile she couldn't hide.
A/N: Will Punk actually show later tonight? Read and find out! Also thanks for the reviews and tweets so far! You all are amazing!