Chapter 39: Kiss Of Death
April was still feeling down after the trip to Tampa. She was clearly still bothered by the Jewel thing and Punk couldn't cheer her up as much as he tried to. He was hanging back in his locker room with April and his guest for the evening Colt since Raw was in Chicago tonight.
"I don't get why she crawled into bed with you" Colt said to him and Punk just rolled his eyes. He knew telling Colt the story would be a bad idea he bought it up constantly.
"We're trying to move on from this" Punk warned glaring towards him
"Because she's a tramp" April answered after Punk "A backstabbing tramp"
"And with that the conversation is over" Punk said to the two
"She's upset" Colt frowned looking at April and making a face at her to try to cheer her up.
"He doesn't see why it's a big deal" April said to him "He can't put himself in my shoes and see it from my perspective"
"Oh really?" Colt asked amused then stood up "Take your clothes off" he said to April
"What the fuck are you doing?" Punk asked him
"I'm going to strip down with your future wife and we'll see how much you like it" Colt shrugged
"Sit down, shut up and keep your clothes on" he warned his friend "Keep your clothes on too" he said to April who just rolled her eyes
"I bet that's the first time he's ever said that to you" Colt teased to April finally causing her to giggle. "And she finally laughs"
"Are you working tonight?" Punk asked looking over to April
"Nope" April said to him "I'm doing a silly backstage segment though" she pulled out a cropped button down sweater "You like this? I know they want me to be sexy and all but it shows my entire stomach that's good enough right?"
"You'd be sexy in a paper bag" Colt said and Punk glared at him again
"Dude" Punk warned
"See he doesn't even like comments" Colt said to April
"Yes it's fine" Punk said to her "I'd personally prefer if you wore something longer"
"How long?" April asked
"Just passed your ass" Punk said seriously
"No one would see her butt though" Colt said to him
"You look at my fiancée's butt?" Punk asked him
"I don't like gawk at it but….come on did you see the new move she does?" Colt asked
"Yea I caught it" Punk said coldly to him "Don't look at her like that"
"I'm just saying the product for Diva's is sex appeal" Colt defended "And your soon to be wife has the best ass out of all the girls, everyone online says it"
"Really?" April asked flattered
"Yea I mean there are YouTube videos dedicated to your ass" Colt informed her seriously
"Why are you searching YouTube videos of her ass?" Punk asked him
"I don't search that" Colt said with a laugh "It just pops up"
"So wait people think I have the best ass?" April asked Colt seriously and he nodded
"Seriously people love it" Colt confirmed and now Punk was getting more annoyed
"Long sweaters" Punk said seriously to her
"People like my butt" April said to Punk proudly and Punk just nodded
"Yea it's great" Punk forced out and that's when Paul Heyman stepped into the room.
"There's my favorite couple" Paul grinned closing the door behind him
"Hey Paul what do you think of my ass?" April asked casually. Paul opened his mouth to respond then looked over to Punk nervously.
"What ass?" Paul asked a chuckle "didn't even realize you had one"
"That's a good answer" Punk said looking through his bag and as soon as he looked away Paul mouthed 'amazing' to her and she smiled in appreciation.
"Colt how are you" Paul said shaking his hand "I think you're going to be in for quit the show"
"That's why I'm here" Colt said to him "It better be good" he warned looking at Punk
"Yea don't worry about that" Punk said to him
"So the reason I'm here is because as you know Vince is not here tonight" Paul informed them
"Yea I know" Punk said to him "So?"
"Well your match with Mark Henry is tonight and you know the deal, Jericho is going to come out and attack you blah, blah ,blah well I think he has something else up his sleeve" Paul said to him
"As long as it doesn't involve April I'm fine" Punk said to him
"You know how his mind works" Paul said to him
"Yea which is exactly why I'm going to go have a word with him" Punk said standing up "I don't want him posting any photos of her or talking about her"
"Well you know he pretty much has free reign tonight" Paul pointed out
"Hey" Punk said looking over to April "No matter what happens tonight do not react" he warned her and she nodded "Don't talk to him, don't play into anything he says or does"
"Gotcha" April said with a firm head nod
"I mean it April" Punk said to her "I don't really get much of a chance to defend myself since it's been scripted tonight that I'm going to have my ass kicked"
"I'll be fine" April said to him "Don't worry"
"With that said I'm going to go see Jericho" Punk said to them
Punk found Jericho in catering and took a seat across from him and casually leaned back in his chair.
"Oh hey Punk" Jericho grinned looking up at him "You're acknowledging I exist tonight?"
"I'm just here to set some ground rules" Punk said to him coolly
"I thought you didn't follow rules?" Jericho asked "But I'll save your breath is your rule not to talk about AJ?"
"Don't talk about her, flash photos of her, speak to her-"
"Relax yourself Punk" Jericho said to him "I got read the riot act from Vince last Monday but of course Vince isn't here tonight"
"Exactly" Punk said to him "If you push me on this we're going to have a real big problem"
"I'm not scared of you Punk" Jericho smirked
"You should be" Punk said seriously
"I don't take orders from you and clearly I don't even take orders from the man who owns this company" Jericho said to him "After Wrestlemania I'm back in tour so do you think I really give a shit if you're mad at me? No I don't care. What I care about is making the biggest impact possible so I'm the most talked about performer of the night"
"Well that's not going to happen" Punk smirked "You're going to be an afterthought like you've been your entire career. Put the focus of this match back on us where it belongs"
"Are you jealous?" Jericho smirked "You think little April is getting too much attention?"
"No" Punk said annoyed and slowly "April is very important to me and I'm not ok with you using her to get to me"
"Is that because it gets to you?" Jericho asked but Punk remained silent "Yea I figured it probably has but let me tell you something Punk that's what I want and the more you protest the more you motivate me"
"Bring her up tonight and you're not going to make your crappy Fozzy tour" Punk threatened
"Ok Punk" Jericho said smugly standing up "I'm really looking forward to tonight" he then walked out of the room.
April, Colt and Paul were in the back watching Punk's match against Mark Henry. The match was to go for seven minutes but every minute felt like an hour with the way it dragged it. All in the room were anxious to see what Jericho was going to do.
"You don't think he's going to really hurt him do you?" April asked finding herself biting on her nails once again
"Nah" Colt said to her "He's not that stupid"
"Yea he wants to wrestle Punk at Wrestlemania he won't risk anything" Paul assured her
"Maybe I should just-" April said standing up
"Sit down?" Colt asked finishing the sentence "Because that's what Punk said"
"I'm not going to go out there I just want to be close" April said to them
"He said you had to stay here" Paul said to her
"He said we could use force if we had to" Colt added
"You don't think I could take you both?" April asked arching a brow at the two
"Please just sit back down" Paul said sweetly "Just watch nothing is going to happen"
In the ring Jericho had just ran in and attacked Punk who had just picked up the win from Mark Henry. He got on the microphone and talked about how Punk will eventually turn to drugs and alcohol since that's in his bloodline and would be a loser his entire life. He picked up a bottle of beer and poured it all over Punk as he lied helpless in the ring but what really caused people to cringe was when he took another bottle and crashed into Punk's head. It broke over his head and April knew that hit was supposed to happen outside of the ring so it would break on the floor but clearly Jericho was out to hurt him.
There was blood trickling down Punk's head and clearly he was out of it. He probably had a concussion from the blow.
"That's what happens when you drink too much" Jericho said to him "Look at this I've got another bottle" he said holding up the bottle so the crowd could see "And I'm going to hit you with it and then I'm going to grab another bottle and hit him again and again and again" the crowd booed loudly "Too bad you don't have any friends Punk, ones who would come out to save you but you have no one!" he shouted towards Punk who was trying to pick his head up but he was still so out of it. "Oh you do have one person" he said with a grin "AJ Lee are you back there?"
"Fuck" Punk muttered under his breath trying to sit up but Jericho kicked him in the back causing him to his the mat again
"AJ please come out here" Jericho said into the microphone "I can hit him again with this bottle but there is a chance I'll hit him so hard he won't even remember you after tonight" he chuckled.
April appeared at the top of the stage and came down the ramp quickly. She didn't run but she walked quickly.
"Don't hurt him" April said from outside the ring
"Don't hurt him?" Jericho asked and she nodded "Ok come on inside we can work something out" he said gesturing for her to come into the ring. She walked up the steps and Jericho held the bottom rope for her to enter.
Punk wasn't sure what was he going and wasn't even sure any of this was really happening.
"Leave him alone" April said to Jericho nervously
"Sure" Jericho said simply "Do something for me first" he said to her
"Anything" she said nodding her head in agreement
"I want to see what all the fuss is about" Jericho said to her "Just give me a kiss" he smiled. April looked over to Punk who still wasn't sure any of this was really happening. He tried to concentrate on what was going on but everything was a blur at the moment.
"Come on AJ Lee you've kissed many of men here" Jericho grinned "I just want a taste" he smiled "I'll be a perfect gentleman" he swore "I won't even use tongue" April looked over to Punk hoping he'd give her the answer or jump up but he was still seeing stars. Jericho stood over Punk and held the bottle high prepared to drop it and April grabbed his arm
"Stop ok" April pleaded "Fine"
"Ok hold on" Jericho said anxiously pulling out Chap Stick and placing it on his lips and started to pucker up. "Over here right over your fiancé please" he said waving her over but then stopped her from coming closer "Wait a minute" he said eyeing her up. "Undo the first button on your blouse" he ordered. The short sweater was buttoned all the way up after her segment earlier. She did have it more open for the cameras but she wasn't comfortable with that. "Come on girly get to it" Jericho mocked.
April was now holding back tears and she unbuttoned the first button of her sweater.
"Alright let's go" Jericho said running his hands together. April closed her eyes and waited for Jericho's lips to touch hers but she felt his fingers grab her chin roughly "Do you honestly think I'd want to kiss a dirty, disgusting, trash-" he didn't finish because someone pried Jericho off of her and tossed him across the room. April looked over and saw John Cena was now in the ring and was the one who came to her rescue. Jericho scurried out of the ring and took off while April kneeled down to check on Punk. John waved down the medical team who entered quickly and tended to Punk.
April was sitting outside the trainers office for almost an hour while Punk was in with the doctors.
"How's he doing?" John asked walking over to her
"They haven't come out yet" April said to him "But I heard him yelling at one of the doctors so I think he's ok. Thank you so much for coming out John" she said to him
"I would have been out sooner but I had to get the OK" John admitted "He was so out of line tonight" he said seriously
"Yea" April said softly "I should have stayed in the back but I didn't even think about it I just ran"
"Hey you did the right thing" John said placing a hand on her shoulder "And from what I heard Vince is livid over all of this. Jericho wasn't very PG either"
"It reminded me of that segment years ago with Chyna and the Nation" April smiled lightly
"You handled yourself well" John said to her "I'm sorry you had to go through that"
"Thanks again John you're a real hero" April smiled and kissed his cheek
"I'm out for a few minutes and you're already making a play?" Punk teased stepping out of the room.
"Hey man" John said to him "How are you feeling?"
"Like I just got three staples in my scalp and someone ran me over" Punk said to him
"Concussion?" John asked
"They think a slight one but they'll test me again tomorrow" Punk said to him then looked over to April who seemed upset "I'm fine" He smiled "You been waiting long?"
"No" April said plastering on a smile
"Are you sure you're alright?" John asked Punk who he would have thought would be furious
"Yea" Punk said to him "How many bottles did he hit me with?"
"You don't remember?" John asked
"I don't remember anything after I hit the mat" Punk admitted with a laugh "I was really out of it"
"Oh" April smiled "That's good"
"Memory loss is good?" Punk questioned
"No I mean who wants to remember getting hit in the head like that?" April asked with a nervous laugh
"I'll remember when I play it back" Punk smirked
"Goodie" April said to him "We should get going because you smell like a brewery"
"Yea see you around" he said to John then walked with April back to the locker room
As soon as Punk entered the locker room Colt and Paul were still there and both seemed tense.
"Dude are you ok?" Colt asked alarmed
"Yea I'm good" Punk said to him
"Are you sure?" Paul asked
"I've been hit in the head before" Punk chuckled "No permanent damage"
"Well just so you know I looked for Jericho but he practically ran out of the building" Colt said to him seriously
"No need" Punk smirked "But thanks"
"You're taking this remarkably well" Paul noted
"I knew Jericho would take a few cheap shots" Punk shrugged "I'm sure it looked great on TV and I'm looking forward to returning the favor in a few weeks"
"We tried to stop her" Colt blurted out and Punk eyed him strangely
"And they did a great job" April said quickly "So go take that shower because seriously you're attracting flies" she said to him "Do you need help?"
"You offering?" Punk smirked
"No sex" April said quickly and he just frowned and walked into the bathroom
"He doesn't know what happened?" Colt asked April
"Not yet" April said to him "I don't want to upset him anymore since his head still hurts so let's just give him the night and he'll re-watch it anyway"
"Or he'll check his phone and see it all over the web" Colt said to her
"Paul why are you so quiet?" April asked him "What should we do?"
"I'm sorry" he laughed "I'm just trying to figure out if he'll be more mad about what Jericho did to you or the fact that it was John Cena who rushed out to save you"
"Oh my god he's going to explode" April said to him
"Well obviously you're not going to be able to keep this from him" Paul said to her "I suggest you rush him out right after the show, take him home and tell him there"
"Yea let him break his own things" Colt said seriously
"I think you're all over reacting" April said to them
"I don't" Colt said to her with a laugh
"I'm infuriated" Paul said to her seriously "And I'm only your friend! Jericho completely demeaned you on national television and did it right in front of his face"
"And don't forget that John Cena saving you thing" Colt added "Maybe we should just tell him"
"Yea like ripping off a band-aid" Paul agreed
"Wait" April said to them "He has a head injury let's just get him home first"
"Fine" Colt said to her "But I'm not going to be there when you tell him"
"I was actually kind of hoping you could tell him" April said hopefully
"Hell no" Colt said seriously
"Please?" April whined
"Yea you should do it" Paul said to him
"You do it!" Colt said to Paul "He won't hit you"
"He wouldn't hit you" April said to Colt
"He just might" Colt said seriously "I didn't keep you locked in the room like I promised him"
"He'd hit me for that too" Paul agreed "The only one he wouldn't hit is you" He said looking towards April "Good luck honey" he said tapping her shoulder then walked out of the locker room.
"Can I have my phone now?" Punk asked as they entered the house. April told him she'd be holding onto it until they got home.
"Oh yea" April said taking her jacket off and looking over to Colt
"Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Punk asked the two "Everyone has been really quiet and quit frankly it's pissing me off"
"Something happened tonight" April said to him nervously
"What happened?" Punk asked her
"Colt will tell you" April said quickly stepping behind Colt.
"I've decided the best way to tell you is to just let you watch and see what really happened tonight" Colt said passing him his phone
"Ok" Punk said unsurely taking the phone. He walked over to the couch and took a seat "Jericho confront AJ Lee?" Punk asked reading the title from the YouTube video. "I asked you not to go out there" he said to her
"Just watch it" Colt insisted.
The video was three minutes long but Punk kept rewinding it. Neither Colt nor April could get read off of his face since it was stone the entire time.
"Babe-" April started and Punk looked up at her with cold eyes and it actually scared her. He stood up and passed Colt back his phone
"Thank you for doing the one thing I asked you to do tonight" he said coolly
"I tried to keep her in there man but Hunter came in and said he wanted her for the segment" Colt defended and Punk just nodded
"Hunter wanted you out there?" Punk asked April and she nodded
"I didn't know what was happening" April defended "And I didn't know that was going to happen"
"How could you?" Punk asked with a shrug "And if your boss tells you to do something you have to do it"
"Don't be mad" April pleaded
"I'm a little passed mad" Punk said remaining calm "But again your boss told you to go out you did the right thing. I'm not mad at either of you" he said to them
"Phew" April said with a sigh "I was worried you'd be furious"
"Since you're taking this so well Paul and I have a bet going" Colt said to him "Are you more mad about Jericho humiliating her or the fact that John Cena saved her?" Punk didn't respond to the question and just kept smiling towards Colt.
"Oh you're scary angry" Colt said nervously "I'm out of here, good luck" he said to April then walked out of the house
"Phil-" April started
"Don't worry about it" Punk smiled kissing her cheek "Are you alright?"
"Yea" April said confused by his entire attitude. She was thrilled he was ok but this was not at all what she expected.
"Good" Punk smiled "I'm exhausted and I'm going to get some sleep" he said to her then walked up the stairs.
April had fallen asleep next to Punk but a loud noise caused her to wake up. She shot up and looked to her side to Punk so he could investigate the disturbance but he wasn't there.
"Phil?" April asked tossing the blankets off of her and walked down the long hallway. She entered the media room when she saw the light on.
"I'm fine" Punk said to her "Just go back to bed"
"Phil!" she yelled out seeing his hand in the wall. She tugged it out and saw his fist was covered in blood "Why did you punch the wall?"
"Because Jericho wasn't in the room" Punk admitted
"Oh my god your hand is all cut up and bleeding" April sighed looking at it
"I don't give a shit about the hand" Punk said pulling it away
"Phil about tonight it wasn't really that bad" April said to him and he narrowed his eyes at her
"I'm trying here April" Punk said to her seriously "I'm trying to remain very calm and not take my anger out on you so I think you should just go and let me cool off"
"No" April said sternly
"I don't want you to see this" Punk said to her "I just need an hour or so"
"I'm not leaving so if you want to throw things and punch the walls that's fine but you're going to do it in front of me" April said placing her hands on her hips "I'm marrying you and that means for better or worse. You're not alone anymore so I'm going to sit right here" she said taking a seat in the nearest chair "And I'm not going to say a word I'm just going to make sure you don't hurt yourself and I'm going to be here when you're ready to talk"
"What he did tonight would have pissed me off he did it to any other woman back there" Punk told her honestly "I mean it was disgusting" he said seriously and just listened "but he did it to you and I can literally feel my chest tightening" he said to her darkly "How fucking dare he" he spat "I was lying right there! I just laid there while he demanded you shorten shirt and grab you! John had to come out and fucking help you! John Cena!" he placed his hands on the side of his head while his face turned red.
"It was great for the story" April said to him
"I don't give a shit about the story!" Punk yelled "He made me look like a chump out there! And fucking Hunter was in on it!"
"They're jealous of you" April said simply "I'm sorry I'm such an easy way to get to you though"
"Don't apologize" Punk said to her "I'm sorry. I'm the reason he keeps humiliating every night. I knew Jericho had something on his mind but I never thought he would go this far" he said to her "I am going to fix this for you I swear"
"I know" April said to him. She knew she didn't need or want him to fix anything but he she also knew he needed her to just play along with everything he said. "You're a good man" she reminded him "I know you're going to make this right."
"I wish I could have been more alert tonight" Punk said to her "I never would have let it get that far"
"Of course" April said standing up walking over to him "I love you so much and I'm just worried about you. Please let me take care of your hand" she said to him and he nodded
"I love you" Punk said to her "And what happened tonight is never going to happen again"
"I know baby" April smiled sweetly