Chapter 38: True Friends
April walked back inside the diner that brought so much to her life. It wasn't just the place that introduced her to all the WWE stars but it was the place where she met Punk, where they had their first date and where they got engaged. She couldn't help but smile as she looked around the diner.
"Look at this" Hector smiled "She hasn't forgotten us yet" he said making his way over to her and throwing his arms around her "Welcome home"
"Hi Hector" she smiled pulling away
"So what's going on? Decided you hate the cold and snow and want to move back to sunny Florida?" he teased
"I did almost freeze to death earlier in the week" April said seriously "But no that's not why I'm here"
"Oh I get your wedding invitation and I want you to know that in all the years I've worked here I've never spent an entire weekend away but for you I'm making an exception" Hector grinned
"Good" April said happily "That's actually why I'm here"
"Oh you want me to cater? No problem" Hector said to her and she laughed
"No you're a guest not an employee" April giggled "I have a different favor to ask of you"
"Ok" Hector said unsurely
"This may sound weird but I'd really like it if you'd give me away" April blurted out nervously. "I know you're not my dad but he's made it clear he's not going to be there-"
"Of course" Hector said cutting her off "I'm honored you'd even ask"
"Really?" April asked with a smile
"Really and truly" Hector said kissing the top of her head
"Thank you so much" April said to him "There isn't another man in the world that I would want to do it"
"Well come sit down and tell me all about work" he said walking her to the counter and taking a seat next to her
"It's been so busy" April said to him happily
"I uh- caught the last live show" Hector said to her "Punk's segment…"
"Do not mention that when he gets here" April warned "That vain in his neck throbs whenever someone mentions it"
"Yes I imagine it would" Hector chuckled "Where is he by the way?"
"He's at Jason's old gym" April sighed "Looking for Jason"
"Is that boy still giving you a hard time?" Hector asked annoyed
"He did track me down in Chicago" April admitted "You haven't seen him around have you?"
"Yes actually I have" Hector admitted "Last week he dropped by"
"No kidding" April said slowly "How did he seem?"
"Happy" Hector shrugged "I asked what he was up to and he just grinned like a fool"
"Oh boy" April said nervously "I didn't think he was actually back in Tampa or I never would have left him alone to look for him"
"What happened in Chicago?" Hector questioned
"It's a long story" April sighed
Punk entered the gym surprised to see it open and actually busy. Clearly someone was running the place.
"Holy crap" a voice said looking up "You're CM Punk"
"I am" Punk said casually walking over the man behind the desk
"With all due respect what are you doing here?" the man asked stunned
"I'm looking for Jason Ritter" Punk said to him "He used to run this gym last time I checked"
"Yea I bought it from him a few months back" the man told him "Haven't seen him for a few days though"
"A few days?" Punk asked surprised
"Yea he stops in once in a while and works out" the man said to him
"Interesting" Punk said to him
"Do you want me to tell him to call you or something?" the man asked
"No just tell him I'll be seeing him real soon" Punk smirked "You don't happen to know when he'll be around again do you?"
"Nah" the man said to him "But I'll give him your message"
"Great thanks" Punk said then walked out of the gym
Punk found April laughing at the counter with Hector and made his way over.
"Hi babe" April said as Punk took a seat next to her
"Punk" Hector said kindly shaking his hand "Coffee?"
"Do you even have to ask?" Punk smirked
"So how did it go?" April asked
"Wasn't there" Punk said to her "But he's been there"
"Yea Hector saw him too" April said to him
"Clearly he's not hiding anymore" Punk said to her "Wonder how he paid off that debt?"
"Come on Phil" April sighed "No negative talk" she reminded him
"Right" Punk agreed
"Oh some good news" April cheered "Hector agreed to walk my down the aisle…or down the rooftop" she smiled
"Awesome" Punk said to her "We're all set than"
"Yup" she said to him "And in two weeks we're going to be Mr & Mrs Brooks"
"Are you going to use that name?" Punk asked her sipping on his coffee
"Brooks?" April asked and he nodded "Yea" she laughed
"Professionally or personally?" Punk asked
"Both!" she giggled "I want to be a Brooks all of the time. Is that ok?"
"Yes" he said happily "Someone should be" he smirked "No one even really knows that's my last name"
"Should I change my last name to Punk instead?" April questioned
"April Punk?" Punk questioned and scrunched up his face "Nah I feel like people would try to give you wedgies at work or something" he smirked
"You'd let people touch my underwear?" April asked
"Oh no that's why I said tried" Punk smirked
"You know I really like what we did the other night" April admitted quietly
"Be a little more specific" Punk encouraged
"You know making love in the backseat of your car" April said to him "I can't stop thinking about it"
"I'll have to get us stranded in blizzards more often" Punk said seriously "I hear it snows a lot in Russia"
"I may have to move there to escape all of the attention I'm getting over the Chris picture" April said to him and he frowned
"Wonderful" Punk forced out
"I mean it's not like it's negative stuff" April said to him
"Just perverted stuff?" Punk asked
"I bet you're getting it too" April warned
"I wouldn't know. I'm staying off of social media until it dies down and you should to" Punk suggested
"How did he get that photo?" April asked him
"He obviously took it out of my bag" Punk said to her "Remember you stuck into my luggage when we were on different tours?" she just nodded. It was HER who snuck the sexy album in his bag. "I never took it out when we started traveling together again"
"That means he probably saw every photo" April said disgusted
"Please stop" Punk pleaded "The last thing I need to think about is Jericho jerking off to photos of my fiancée"
"Ew Phil" April said disgusted "Do you have the album by the way?"
"Yes" Punk said to her "It's locked away safely"
"Good" April said to him happily "Oh! You never told me if Vince approved our time off"
"Yea he did" Punk said to her
"Did he give you a hard time about it?" April asked nervously
"Nope" Punk said to her "It's all done all we have to do is get dressed and meet on the roof"
"There's so much to do!" April reminded him "We still have to get our marriage license and we have to do that the day we get back from Wrestlemania" she said seriously "we need to pick up the food, meet with photographer and pick out our wedding bands"
"Ok well I already picked the wedding bands" Punk informed her "I also spoke to the photographer, the food is set and my family is picking it up for us so we just have to get the license"
"You took care of everything" April said to him with a smile
"It's what I do" Punk teased
"I just have one more request" April said sweetly
"Alright" Punk said to her
"Try not to get a black eye or anything" April said to him "I want you in one piece"
"You should be having this talk with Jericho" Punk smirked
"Fine" April said to him simply
"Kidding, I was kidding" Punk said quickly "No talking to Jericho. I know Vince isn't going to be at Raw Monday which means Jericho is going to free reign over our segment. You know how Hunter just loves him"
"Vince is missing a live show so close to Wrestlemania?" April asked stunned
"It's hush, hush but Linda is having minor surgery nothing serious but he wants to be there" Punk said to her
"What a good man" April said to him "Would you miss work if I had to have surgery?"
"Yes" he smirked
"No hesitation I like that" April said proudly
"Speaking of Vince he may have mentioned us working together in the future" Punk warned her "As an onscreen couple"
"Oh that's awesome" she said surprised
"Yea?" Punk asked
"Yea! I mean I'd love to actually want to kiss a man I'm working with" April said to him "Are you ok with that? It's kind of step down right?"
"Working with you is not a step down" Punk said seriously "People are dying to work with you. You helped elevate Dolph and Langston and kept John Cena relevant. You're a hot commodity"
"You think I'm hot?" April teased smiling
"Oh so hot" Punk said seriously and leaned and kissed her
"You two are so adorable and I'm happy for you both but please stop it before people start throwing up their dinners" Hector teased
"Fine we're going to go home anyway" April said to him
"Without eating?" Hector asked offended "Don't you insult me like that April"
"Fine" April said to him
"Besides you need some meat on your bones" Hector scolded and Punk nodded
"You agree with that?" April asked "I need to fit into my wedding dress!"
"You'll fit in it" Punk said to her "Eat a little and enjoy yourself"
"Yes I have your favorite coming out and what about you Punk?" Hector asked
"I'll just finish eating whatever she doesn't eat because you know she'll only take one bite" Punk said to him
"Good I hate wasting food" Hector said to him
"Oh my god!" a voice squealed from behind them "Miss April?" April turned around and saw her old friend Jewel
"Jewel!" April smiled jumping out of her chair and hugging her "I've missed you!"
"I've missed you too" She said happily
"How did you know I was here?" April asked
"I didn't" Jewel said pulling away and April noticed the uniform
"You're working here?" April asked her
"Yea" Jewel said forcing a smile "It's not bad and Hector says I'm the best waitress he's ever had"
"Not true" Hector said from behind the counter "But much better than you were" he said to April causing Punk to laugh
"How long are you in town for?" Jewel asked "I'd love to catch up"
"Just for tonight. We have a flight tomorrow afternoon" April said to her
"I'm off in a four hours" Jewel said to her hopefully
"Come by my place as soon as you get off" April offered and Jewel nodded "We'll pull an all nighter just like we used to"
"Awesome" Jewell said to her "Your fiancé won't mind?"
"Oh crap" April said turning to look at Punk "Babe you remember Jewel right?"
"Of course" Punk said shaking her hand "Nice to see you again"
"You too" Jewel said to him
"And no I don't mind" Punk said to them.
"Great! I'll bring over the junk food" Jewel smiled.
It was about one in the morning and April and Jewel were still up, laughing and catching up while Punk slept in the bedroom.
"I got your wedding invitation" Jewel said to her "I don't think I'm going to make it though"
"Why?" April asked sadly
"Come on for real?" Jewel laughed "First of all I'd never fit in second of all I can't afford that kind of trip or get a gift-"
"You'd fit in" April argued "And I'll take care of your travel arrangements also we don't want gifts"
"I couldn't impose like that" Jewel said to her
"I would be more upset if you didn't come" April said seriously
"Ok cool" Jewel smiled "So tell me is he the real deal?" she asked "I heard the rumors of what a horn dog he is"
"He's amazing" April said to her "He's so great to me"
"Yea I mean you went from poor waitress to girl to shacking up with the most eligible bachelor in wrestling" Jewel said to her
"It's really not like that" April said to her
"Come on he had to have helped your career" Jewel laughed
"He hasn't" April said to her "I mean he did set up my meetings and stuff in the beginning"
"He's kind of like your sugar daddy than?" Jewel asked with a giggle
"No!" April defended "He's just Phil"
"I wish I had met him first" Jewel said seriously "I mean seriously? He's hot and I bet he's great in bed"
"He really is" April confirmed
"You have nothing to compare it to" Jewel pointed out
"I don't need to because every single time we're together it gets better" April said to her fondly "He's just so….I don't even know"
"So jealous" Jewel said seriously
"Well come around to some shows and I'll introduce you to some of the single guys" April offered
"I'm in" Jewel said "Maybe I'll find my own modern day prince charming"
"I've worked really hard Jewel" April said seriously "He didn't hand me everything"
"Oh I'm sure you did" Jewel said with a smirk
"Alright well I'm going to take a shower but you should crash here on the couch" April said standing up
"Great thanks" Jewel said to her "Enjoy your shower" she smirked
"Ok" April laughed and headed into the bathroom.
Once Jewel heard the water she quietly got off of the couch and tiptoed into April's room. Punk was on his side with no shirt under the covers passed out cold. Jewel removed her worked uniform and crawled into the bed next to him and wrapped her arm around his waist.
"Mhm" Punk said half awake "I thought you were never coming to bed" he said as he enjoyed the feeling of April's hands running over his body. She kissed the in-between his shoulder blades and pressed her body closer to his. When he felt her hand reach for the top of his shorts he ran his hand over it and felt something missing- her ring. He grabbed the hand before it slipped into his shorts.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Punk demanded sitting up with his hand still gripped around her wrist.
"You're hurting my wrist" Jewel said to him
"What are you doing?" Punk demanded again
"Jewel?" April asked entering the room "Phil? What's this?" she asked then realized Punk was shirtless and Jewel was in her underwear
"I can explain this" Punk said letting go of Jewel's wrist
"He came on to me" Jewel said to her quickly and April narrowed her eyes
"What kind of a friend are you?" April seethed storming over to her friend. April grabbed her by her hair and pulled her off of the bed.
"Ow you're hurting me!" Jewel yelled as April pulled her out of the bedroom. "I was just kidding around!"
"April, babe" Punk said rushing behind her and pulling her off of Jewel
"Get the hell out of my house!" April demanded
"Don't be like this" Jewel said casually "It was a joke! I knew you'd be out of the shower soon"
"Get out before I kick your ass" April said stepping towards her. Punk had never seen his fiancée so angry before.
"Can I get my clothes first?" Jewel asked her. April grabbed the clothes Jewel had dropped opened her apartment door and threw them out the door
"What are you waiting for?" April asked pointing for her to leave
"This was just a misunderstanding" Jewel said
"If you come around me or Phil again I'm going to rip your hair out of your head" April threatened and slammed the door in her face. When she turned around she saw Punk who looked so amused. "What?" April asked him
"It's just- you just tossed your friend out of here" Punk said to her
"How far did she get with you?" April asked folding her arms
"Come on now" Punk chuckled "I knew it wasn't you"
"You think this is funny?" April asked him
"You two weren't that close anymore" Punk reminded her
"That doesn't matter!" April yelled "She was talking about your dating past five minutes before she crawled in there with you. It was like she was asking for permission. How dare she touch you like that!"
"She didn't really touch me" Punk smirked
"Why are you smiling?" April asked
"You're jealous" Punk noted
"I'm not jealous" April laughed bitterly "I'm pissed off! How dare she put her hands on you!"
"So you're not going to be talking to her ever again?" Punk questioned
"That's the least of her problems" April said coldly "Why?"
"It's just I would have told you Jason hit on me if I knew that's all it took for you to cut people out" Punk smirked
"This isn't funny" April sighed "Do you know how horrible it was to see you in bed with another woman?"
"Hey I didn't invite her there" Punk defended quickly
"Ugh" April groaned walking over to the couch "My last friend and she's gone too"
"Jason and Jewel weren't your real friends" Punk said to her "Besides you have plenty of friends!" he assured her taking a seat next to her
"No I don't" April said to him "I really am like an orphan"
"Langston is your friend and the Shield guys" Punk pointed out "And Celeste"
"You have all of these old friends from before you even wrestled. Our entire wedding is going to be your family and pro wrestlers" April said to him
"People suck" Punk said to her "I wish there was a way to shield you from this fact but it's just the way life is and now that you're rich and famous people are just going to get worse"
"Ugh I can't get the image out of my head" April groaned "I should have hit her!"
"Nothing happened" Punk reminded her "You handled it well"
"And what if you walked into a bedroom and saw me with…oh let's say Colt and we were both half naked-" April started
"Ok I get it" Punk said cutting her off
"You would have hit him" April mumbled
"Come on" Punk said standing up and grabbing her hand pulling her up "Let's go to sleep"
"I won't be able to sleep" April said to him "Every time I close my eyes I'm going to see you in bed with her"
"It's not like we were having sex" Punk reminded her and she halted her movements and glared at him "Come on" he laughed tugging her into the bedroom "The fact that you're so jealous really turns me on"
"I'm not jealous" April said to him seriously causing him to laugh "I'm territorial" she defended
"Oh that's even hotter" Punk said seriously