A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone! Before you read this chapter just know that this is still slightly AU so although I may use past wrestling stories but not in the same time frame as they did. Enjoy :)
Chapter 28: Rough Bump
Punk was in his locker room and he had to admit he was finally happy and at peace. He was going to start a program with Jericho and even though Punk and Chris weren't exactly 'friends' he did enjoy working with such a seasoned performer. He was on his way to Wrestlemania as WWE champion and from what he was told he was going to be winning as well. April's story with Cena also seemed to be winding down and he was happy about that as well. He wanted April to be his exclusively not just outside of work but also in work as well.
"So you did it" John Cena said walking right into Punk's room
"April showed you the ring?" Punk asked with a laugh
"Yea I asked why her left side was dragging and she held up her hand and showed me the iceberg you gave her" John said seriously "You can't even see where the Titanic hit it"
"Jealous?" Punk smirked
"Yes" John teased "But seriously congrats you landed a good one"
"I did" Punk agreed
"I'm surprised it took you so long to do it" John admitted
"I wanted to do it right" Punk said to him
"And how did you do it?" John asked
"That's private" Punk said to him smugly "But it worked"
"Clearly and you have one happy fiancée bouncing around the halls" John said to him "And I do appreciate you two keeping this on the DL until our story is over"
"Yea but if people spot her with that ring and start to assume you're marrying her I'm telling" Punk warned
"She's actually so happy about this engagement she's only mentioned you tagging with Beth tonight once" John smirked
"Ugh" Punk groaned "That's Hunter's way of reminding me he controls every aspect of my career"
"Well while you and Beth wrestle Eve and Daniel Bryan I'll be facing your opponent at 'Mania" John said to him "Jericho seems pretty bitter over this entire thing"
"Yea you'd think he'd just be happy with getting a title shot at the show" Punk snorted
"I'll leave him in one piece for ya" John laughed "So what is the deal? How are you two promoting this?"
"He's going to take shots at my parents, the fact that I don't drink" Punk said to him "He didn't even personally ask me if I was ok with it he used Hayes as the middle man"
"It's going to be difficult to have a match with a man who doesn't even want to speak to you" John noted
"I can make anything work" Punk remarked arrogantly
"I don't know you know how gets" John insisted
"I'm not worried" Punk said to him "I'm not worried about a damn thing for the first time in my life"
"Good for you" John said seriously "You deserve some happiness"
"Nothing is going to ruin this for me" Punk said proudly "Not the way they book me, not the way they book her- wrestling isn't even on my radar right now"
"Wow" John laughed "It used to be your life"
"I have new priorities" Punk shrugged
"I wish you the best man" John said shaking his hand "And I'm expecting an invite to the wedding"
"We'll see" Punk mocked
April was in catering sitting with Celeste, Nattie and Naomi and they were all gawking over her ring.
"I can't believe the size of it" Naomi said to her
"I can't believe Punk actually proposed" Nattie added with a laugh "The man swore off marriage years ago at least that's what he always told Beth"
"He changed his mind I guess" April said simply "But it is a great ring right?"
"Beautiful" Celeste agreed "I'm officially jealous of you"
"When is the wedding?" Nattie asked
"Oh we haven't even discussed that yet" April said to her "This just happened last week"
"I bet it will be fast" Naomi said
"Yea I mean he asked you live with him after a few months, a few months after that engagement" Celeste pointed out
"I really have no idea" April said to her "We'll probably talk about it next week when we see his family. They're throwing us an engagement party"
"And his family already loves you" Nattie smirked shaking her head "I still call TJ's mom Mrs"
"His family is great" April confirmed
"Alright let me see" Langston said walking over "I heard the rumors" he said standing over April looking down at her "And when I heard the boys talking about you getting married I said 'damn you're info is off because my girl April wouldn't be getting married without telling me first'"
"Sorry" April said but she wasn't able to hide her smile. She held out her hand and Langston looked at it. She laughed as his eyes practically popped out of his head.
"Damn" Langston said shaking his head "Look at Punk making every man in the world look bad."
"He's been doing that since day one" April replied smugly
"And his cockiness is rubbing off on you" Langston laughed "Nice"
"Don't be mad" April frowned "I need my maid of honor to be happy for me"
"Maid of honor?" Langston asked as the other girls laughed at the table "You want me in a dress"
"The dress is optional but standing next to me on my big day isn't" April said seriously "You're my best friend"
"I'm honored" Langston smiled "And I'll even wear the dress if you'd like"
"I can't have my maid of honor looking better than the bride on her wedding day" April teased
"Good point" Langston smiled
"Alright enough gossiping I have to go find John and go over the match for tonight" April said standing up
April found John and Chris already talking in one of the offices when she joined them.
"Sorry I'm late" April said quickly taking a seat next to John
"It's cool we just started" John assured her "But we do want to work you into the match someway"
"Don't be rude John" Jericho chuckled "I haven't even been introduced to her yet"
"Oh right Jericho, April" John said as he looked down at his phone.
"Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you" Jericho said coolly shaking her left hand
"I'm a huge fan" April admitted "Ever since your WCW days as a matter of fact"
"Awesome" Jericho smiled then titled her hand "That's quit the ring. John you didn't mention you were marrying the girl"
"Oh no" John said quickly with a laugh "She's spoken for"
"I just assumed since you two were working together for so long that you were really an item" Jericho said to them
"No she's all Punk's" John chuckled as he texted away on his phone
"CM Punk?" Jericho asked surprised "No shit" He said completely surprised "I'm going to be working with him at Wrestlemania" he said to April
"Yea I know" April said politely
"I can't believe how quiet you've kept your relationship" Jericho noted "What is he embarrassed?"
"No it's just I'm working with John and before that I was with Ziggler so we didn't want to step on any toes" April said to him and Jericho nodded "But as soon as my story with John is done which is going to be shortly we're going to be more open I guess"
"Two more weeks actually" John said finally putting his phone away
"I just can't believe Punk didn't mention this" Jericho said to her
"From what I heard Punk's being having some trouble getting in touch with you" John said to him
"Yea I've just been busy with touring and such but I'm going to have a sit down with him soon and we're going to go over the story" Jericho said to him
"Yea Punk mentioned it, sounds good" John said to him
"My idea" Jericho said proudly
"Actually speaking of us 'breaking up' onscreen tonight is going to start it" John said to her
"Please don't tell me I'm going to cost you your match" April sighed "I did that with Nick"
"We were thinking something else" John smirked "You're going to get hurt at ringside next week I come out and say I can't have with you during matches because I'm afraid for your safety. It's weak but a quick way out. The execs are actually really nervous your engagement news is going to break before than"
"Seems legit" Jericho shrugged "At least your story will get closure" he said to April
"So how am I getting hurt?"
"I'm going to bump you" Jericho said to her "Don't worry I won't really hurt you" he winked
"I'll get out of the ring check on you, when I get back in Jericho will get a quick rollup on me" John said to her
"I was thinking I'd just run you over while I'm running from John" Jericho said "Are you ok with that?"
"Yea" April said to him "I can take any kind of bump don't let my size fool you"
"Yea she's a tough cookie" John agreed
"Great" Jericho said to them
Punk's match with Beth was pretty painless. She was obviously so annoyed over his engagement so she went from being rude to him to completely silent. If he had known that proposing to April would cause her to shut up for once he would have done it months ago. He wasn't even bothered that he wasn't in the main-event tonight. He was just looking forward to getting back to Chicago with April in two days.
Punk was changed into his shorts and already had his bags on the bus that's how anxious he was to leave but he had to wait for April to close the show. He always watched her segments but tonight he took more of an interest in his Wrestlemania opponent.
"He looks good" Paul noted to Punk "Like he hasn't missed a day"
"Yea" Punk agreed. It was almost as if he was studying Jericho which he exactly was.
"Are you excited about the match?" Paul asked
"Sure" Punk said as he watched Jericho lay out Cena in the middle of the ring. "Looks a bit stiff" he said to Paul but kept his eyes on the screen
"Oh there's the future Mrs. Brooks!" Paul shouted pointing to the screen as they zoomed in on April's concerned face
"Are you going to do that every time?" Punk asked briefly looking at Paul
"I'm still in shock" Paul defended.
"She looks good doesn't she?" Punk asked Paul as they watched April from ringside
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Paul asked carefully
"No" Punk smirked
"She is beautiful" Paul noted "And not just on the outside either. You're lucky to have her"
"I know" Punk agreed
"And she's lucky to have you" Paul added "You're a good man and I'm glad you're letting yourself be happy"
"I'm not letting myself be happy she just makes me that way" Punk admitted as he smirked at the TV upon seeing April shout something at Jericho.
"She's really good for you" Paul noted "Don't let this place ruin it for you"
"Why would you say that?" Punk asked giving Paul his full attention
"It's just I've seen married couples in the business" Paul said honestly "Sometimes they can't separate business from personal lives"
"Have I had any issues with her kissing Nick?" Punk asked "Did I demand they end her story with Cena?"
"No you've been great" Paul agreed "I just want to make sure it stays that way"
"April is up here" Punk said holding his hand up and then lowered it "This is where WWE is in comparison to her"
"Great" Paul said to him "Oh!" Paul shouted looking at the screen. April had told Punk she would be taking a bump from Jericho but as they showed the replay of April of Jericho running over April it not only looked like it hurt but it sounded like it as well. Her body smacked so hard against the floor that Paul even cringed slightly.
"What the fuck was that?" Punk asked immediately standing up
"Just a bump she's a good seller" Paul said to him and Punk shook his head
"He used full force!" Punk yelled pointing to the screen and watched the second replay from another angle. All of Jericho's weight hit her right side and it looked like her shoulder to the biggest hit, but due to the shock of the hit she didn't really prep her fall and she smacked her head pretty hard on the floor and that was the loud sound that could be heard clearly.
"I'm sure it was a mistake" Paul said to him
"Yea it was a mistake alright" Punk remarked then stormed out of his locker room.
By the time Punk made it to the curtain April was already being helped to the back by the doctors. He saw she was holding her shoulder slightly and quickly made his way over.
"Are you ok?" Punk asked her
"Yea I'm fine" she said forcing a smile but she was clearly in pain
"You're going to check that shoulder right?" Punk asked the doctor
"Yes" the doctor said and that's when Cena made his way to the back
"Jesus April" John muttered "Are you alright?"
"Yes" April said forcing a laugh "It was fine"
"You took the worst hit of the night" John noted "I don't know what happened" that's when Jericho walked passed the curtain and he didn't seem bothered at all. He shot Punk a smug look and continued to walk down the hall.
"Not even a fucking apology?" Punk asked out loud
"Leave it" April insisted "This happens sometimes"
"He ran you over" Punk pointed out seriously "It was as if he was charging Henry or Show!"
"He had to make it look real" April reminded him
"Well it looked damn real because it was" Punk argued
"Come on April" Doc said grabbing her gently
"It's really fine" April said to him
"I'll be judge of that" Doc smiled
"Check her head too" Punk said to him "She came down hard on it"
"Yea I caught that" Doc said to him "Don't worry she's in good hands"
"I'm sorry man" John said to him
"You have nothing to apologize for" Punk said to him
"Good match Cena" Jericho smiled walking over to John not even acknowledging Punk
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Punk asked glaring towards Jericho
"Oh hey Punk" Jericho smiled "Did you catch the match?"
"I caught you bulldozing over April" Punk said in disbelief of Jericho's casual attitude.
"She agreed to the bump" Jericho defended "She even said she was tough- right John?"
"Yea but I don't think she meant to really rush her" John said to him "What was that all about it?"
"I didn't even realize I really knocked her down" Jericho said to him "I just thought she was playing the part"
"What is your fucking problem?" Punk demanded getting in Jericho's face now
"What business is it of yours?" Jericho asked
"Don't play stupid with me" Punk warned in a low voice
"Seriously" Jericho laughed "Why do you care about John's match so much?"
"You know I'm engaged to April" Punk said to him "I don't know if you're pissed because you're not getting the title-"
"You're with her?" Jericho asked surprised "It really slipped my mind."
"You're so full of shit" Punk remarked bitterly
"Let's just take a step back" John said stepping between the two
"She's a wrestler this is the business we're in" Jericho defended "Sometimes people get hurt Punk even the rare few you actually like" Punk was now completely taken back by Jericho.
"Go check on April" John suggested
"Are you going to apologize to her?" Punk seethed at Jericho
"I'm not going to apologize for doing my job and I'm sure she's fine" Jericho said to them "But if she did get hurt then maybe she should rethink being a professional wrestler"
"I'm going-" Punk took another step towards Jericho
"Don't do this" Paul warned walking over now. He spoke low enough so only Punk could hear "We literally just discussed this" he reminded him
"If she's really hurt just know I'm going to the return the favor" Punk threatened then turned and walked away
"That was very big of you" Paul said walking away with Punk
"I'm going to hurt him" Punk said to him
"It was an accident" Paul laughed
"It wasn't a fucking accident!" Punk yelled "Did you even hear the shit he was saying?"
"He's old school" Paul laughed "The Diva's used to go through tables!"
"Yea and that's all well and good but April wasn't expecting it" Punk said to him "And Bubba Ray never let those girls take any of the hit he was a fucking man and took the entire bump for them. Jericho did the same exact shit with Shawn's wife a few years back and again never apologized for that either"
"He's not going to either" Paul said to him "Just go to the trainers office check on your very pretty fiancée and take her back to the bus. It's your turn to prepare the icepacks for her"
"I'm not done with him" Punk warned Paul "Keep him away from me if you don't want me to beat him senseless"
After a thorough checkout April was free to go. She didn't have any real bad damage just a bruised shoulder and a small bump on the back of her head.
"This is a change" April smirked as Punk held an icepack on the back of April's head.
"How does your head feel?" Punk asked her
"It's fine I really don't need the ice" April said to him
"Keep the ice on" Punk insisted "You don't mess with head injuries"
"It's not an injury" April laughed "I'm really ok"
"Let me see your shoulder" Punk said moving the icepack and motioned for her to unzip her jacket. She lowered the zipper and showed Punk the now large forming bruise on it.
"Well there goes the idea of wearing a strapless dress for the party" April teased
"He did it on purpose" Punk said to her and April frowned
"Why would he do that?" April asked
"Because you're with me" Punk said to her "I knew he wanted to make our story personal for Wrestlemania but I didn't think me meant like this"
"Oh don't be stupid" April laughed "He's a professional"
"He's an asshole" Punk corrected "He's trying to piss me off to sell this story"
"Well is it working?" April asked him
"No because I'm not pissed off. I'm ten levels passed pissed off" Punk said to her
"Don't be" April sighed "It's really not a big deal"
"It is to me" Punk said to her "I can't wait to get my heads on him"
"Don't do anything" April said to him "I oversold the bump that's all"
"You can't defend what he did tonight" Punk said to her
"He seemed fond of you when we spoke earlier" April said to him
"He mentioned me?" Punk asked and she nodded
"Yea he thought I was engaged to John" April laughed "But I told him it was to you he was surprised"
"I bet" Punk remarked bitterly
"Hey we have a big week ahead of us" April said to him with a smile "Don't let something like this ruin our engagement week"
"I'm not" Punk promised "I'm just really mad"
"And you don't have to be" April said to him "This is the business we're in. We get hurt sometimes you can't just attack everyone who gives me a rough hit"
"You're right" Punk agreed "Because normally you wrestle women but this was a man and in this case yes I can attack the person. Physically and mentally actually"
"Just prove you're the bigger person" April said to him "And you'll get your revenge when you make him look bad on the mic and in the ring" she said to him "You're the best in the world he's just an insecure unhappy man"
"Add broken and bloodied to that list" Punk said to her
"I love that you're so upset but we knew things like this were bound to happen. If you make a big deal everyone will run me over at work" she teased
"Not if I kill Jericho" Punk said innocently
"If you kill him you'll miss the wedding" April replied "It's going to be hard to get married without the groom"
"True" Punk agreed
"I'm never going to work with him again" April reminded him
"That does make me happy" Punk said to her "Alright"
"Good" she said kissing his lips. "Do I get to pick the movie tonight?" she asked hopefully
"Yea sure" He said to her
"Good I want to watch Harry Potter" she said to him and Punk groaned "Don't be like that" April warned
"I'm excited" Punk said with fake enthusiasm
"I had to watch Might Ducks 1 & 2 back to back last Monday" April reminded him
"Fine, fine" Punk said standing up with her
"If you're a good boy and don't complain much I might let you massage me afterwards" she said to him and he smiled
"Where?" Punk asked curiously. She had tricked him into foot massages one to many times already
"Anywhere you'd like" she smiled as she dragged him to the back bedroom.