F
"What do you think?" Jason asked Punk as he showed him around his new place.
"Park and school down the street, two bedrooms, big bathroom and a doorman." Punk noted looking around. "I'd say you're a true family man now."
"Kid on the way I have to be." Jason grinned proudly.
"It feels like yesterday you announced having this kid." Punk admitted jumping and sitting on the counter of the empty apartment.
"And now she's six months along and I'm going to need a lot of help getting moved in before she has the baby." Jason said to him.
"You know I'll help." Punk said to him. "Wish you didn't rent your place to Mike though."
"I didn't have a choice I'm not the building owner." Jason reasoned. "Believe me I don't want him in there with Maria floating around."
"Lucky for me I think AJ secretly enjoys arguing with Maria." Punk groaned.
"Maybe you can get out of there next." Jason suggested. "You make good enough money now."
"Yea I'll just pack up and leave AJ at the mercy of Hector and Shane along with Maria and Mike." Punk snorted.
"Take her with you." Jason said to him. "This place is nice."
"We're pulling in good money from the shop now but I can't afford this building regardless. Besides AJ and I have talked about living together but we both like it the way it is now. She needs to have her own space for some time." Punk told him.
"Yea I suppose she's enjoying her freedom." Jason said.
"She's been working like crazy to get her final credits so she can get her degree." Punk said to him.
"Yea she's been spending a lot of time at school." Jason noted. "More than at work."
"Yea it's good for her." Punk said to him and Jason nodded. "What? Isn't it better she's at school then at the shit bar she works at?"
"I don't like her professor." Jason said to him and Punk smirked.
"You told me about him months ago and trust me when I say I'm not concerned you shouldn't be either." Punk said to him. "That guy hasn't nothing on me."
"I don't think AJ would cheat on you." Jason laughed. "I just don't agree with teachers spending so much time with their students out of class. They're doing tutoring and extra credit stuff and last week they were at a charity race together."
"What are you trying to say?" Punk asked. "Again, I trust AJ completely."
"It's not AJ you shouldn't trust it's him." Jason insisted. "Look I get that you're happy and I'm happy for you but it's like you're blinded. The old Punk would have knocked on this teachers front door and told him to back off his girlfriend."
"He's her teacher. Everything he's doing is to bring up her grade and like I told you months ago I promised David that I would make sure AJ graduated and did something she really wanted." Punk said to him. "It's not high school where hanging around your teacher is wrong it's college and everyone is an adult and I'm not worried about AJ. She's a smart woman she knows right from wrong and if something didn't feel right she'd tell me."
"Ok." Jason said with a shrug.
"Why are you putting this in my head?" Punk asked him. "Do you want me to get arrested for beating down some poor old college professor?"
"Old?" Jason laughed. "That guy is like our age."
"He is?" Punk asked and Jason nodded.
"And no of course not." Jason said to him. "Maybe it's just a brother thing." he said brushing it off.
"Good thing AJ wasn't around much when she was a teen or her boyfriends wouldn't have a stood a chance." Punk joked. "And even better, you're having a boy."
"Thank god." Jason said relieved. "AJ is an adult and I'm already crazy about who she hangs out with imagine I had a daughter?"
"Don't have to." Punk smirked. "You need to trust AJ. She knows what she's doing."
"Doesn't sit right with me man." Jason admitted. "But that's just me."
"You've always been paranoid." Punk remarked.
"Yea I guess." Jason said to him. "So you're going to paint the nursery right?"
"I said I'd help you paint it." Punk laughed.
"We're doing red and black." Jason said to him.
"Blackhawks colors? Nice." Punk noted. "How did you get Kate to sign off on that?"
"Groveling." Jason admitted without shame.
At around midnight AJ walked into the shop from work and when Punk looked up he was greeted by his petite girlfriend jumping into his arms and kissing him.
"Hello there." Punk smirked.
"Hi." She grinned. "I got my paper back." She cheered waving it in his face.
"A+." Punk grinned. "Congratulations."
"I just have a final then I'm done." She said relieved.
"You've really pulled your grade up." Punk noted looking over the paper. "I mean a few months ago you were getting C's and now you're an A+."
"You know I've been doing all this extra credit and studying." She pointed out. "I thought we could celebrate by you taking me out tomorrow night."
"I can swing that." Punk smirked. "This is your journalism class right?"
"Yea." She said oddly. "Why?"
"No reason." Punk said passing her back the paper. "You're off from work tomorrow?"
"Yea no classes or work so I am all yours if you'll have me." She smiled.
"I'll have you alright." He smirked.
"I'm going to take Larry out then get some sleep because I'm exhausted." She said to him.
"Alright." Punk said to her. "I'm going to be done here for at least another hour."
"But tomorrow you'll make time?" She asked hopefully.
"Of course." Punk promised and she then walked up the stairs.
"Hi AJ." Mike said to her and she just rolled her eyes and headed up the stairs. "She's mean."
"You're an asshole to her." Punk corrected.
"So another A+ paper." Mike noted.
"What's it to you?" Punk asked.
"Maria and I saw AJ with her professor at the children's carnival a few weeks ago." Mike noted.
"Yea she was there volunteering, so what?" Punk asked.
"It's just I'd be giving my student A+'s too if she she looked like AJ and dated me." Mike shrugged.
"What the fuck are you implying?" Punk demanded walking over to him.
"Nothing." Mike shrugged.
"Fucking say it." Punk hissed.
"It's just weird that's all. She's barely getting by and now that her professor has taken her under his wing and she's getting straight A's." Mike pointed out. "Seems fishy to me."
"Fuck you." Punk spat and Mike rolled his eyes.
"You wouldn't be getting so pissy if you weren't thinking AJ was doing a little something extra to 'earn' those A's." Mike chuckled and Punk clocked him.
"I'm sick of your fucking comments about my girlfriend. Fuck you." Punk spat then walked out of the shop.
At dinner the next night Punk sprung for a decently fancy place. AJ was wearing her black cocktail dress he loved and she was thrilled to be almost done with school. But of course Jason and Mike's comments loomed in the back of his head. Was he completely blinded by AJ to not see what was happening directly in front of his face? He trusted AJ completely but that didn't mean he trusted her new professor.
"You've been awfully quiet." AJ noted eating her salad.
"I was just thinking about your grades." Punk said with a smile.
"Yea?" She asked happily. "Tell me how proud you are of me."
"I'm very proud." Punk said to her. "There's nothing more important to me than you bettering yourself. I want you to graduate and do something you love so you don't have to live pay check to pay check like I do."
"I'll be fine- actually we'll be because what good happens to me happens to you too." She said to him and he smiled warmly.
"I just can't help but wonder how invested your professor is with you." Punk said to her. "Mike told me he saw you and him at the carnival."
"You knew I was going to be there with him. I volunteered." She reminded him.
"Jason has mentioned it to me too." Punk said calmly and she narrowed her eyes at him.
"I really hope you're not accusing me of sleeping with my professor for my grades." She almost warned him.
"No I'm not because I know you and I trust you." Punk said brushing off her comment.
"So what's your problem?" AJ asked him.
"My problem is I thought this guy was a 60 year old man but he's a young guy around my age who sees you more than I do." Punk said to her. "What's his deal?"
"His deal? He's an educator and he's trying to help me realize my dreams." AJ argued. "You don't think I'm smart enough to be earning these grades? I slipped up in the beginning. I was dealing with David dying and really let everything go and he helped me bounce back. You should be thanking him."
"I'd love to." Punk said with a smile. "Where can I find him?"
"You're not a jealous guy Phil." AJ noted. "Why are you letting Jason and Mike get into your head like this? Part of the reason I love you so much is because you trust me and you let me live my life. You don't control me. I don't need you knocking on my professor's door and treating me like a child."
"I'm not but it's weird to me." Punk insisted. "What does he get out of all of the time he spends with you?"
"It's his job." AJ argued. "I can't believe you're even doing this. This never bothered you before."
"Well, it does now." Punk said simply.
"School is almost over." AJ pointed out. "Can't you just let this go for a few more weeks?"
"No I can't." He said to her. "I want to at least meet him."
"Why?" AJ asked him.
"Because I want to know the man who spends so much time with my girlfriend." Punk told her. "If you feel he's completely professional it shouldn't be a problem."
"If you would have asked to meet him because you wanted to thank him for helping me I'd have no problem but I don't want you attacking the poor guy who has been nothing but nice to me." she argued. "I'm so close to my diploma I can taste it and you're prepared to blow it because you're jealous."
"I'm not jealous." Punk corrected. "Like I said this isn't a trust thing, it's him I have the problem with."
"He's done nothing wrong." AJ insisted.
"He's never made a pass at you?" Punk asked.
"Do you think I'd really be working with him if he had?" AJ asked astonished. "You think I would even flirt with him or lead him to get a good grade? Don't you know me at all?"
"AJ-" he started but she stood up.
"I want to go home now." she said walking away.
The next day Punk was at Jason's new apartment painting the nursery with him.
"So she just got up and left, huh?" Jason asked.
"Yea thanks a fucking lot." Punk remarked annoyed.
"I didn't tell you to talk to her about it." Jason laughed. "Why would you do that? Of course that would piss her off!"
"AJ and I are open and honest with each other we talk about everything." Punk shrugged. "There's no secrets."
"I did see the black eye you gave Mike." Jason smirked. "Nice."
"He got into my head too." Punk scoffed. "I shouldn't have listened to either of you." He said annoyed.
"Is she talking to you yet?" Jason asked him.
"No. I mean she talked during sex last night but that was it." Punk shrugged and Jason shook his head.
"Do you not have a fucking filter man?" Jason asked him seriously. "My fucking sister." He reminded him.
"She could be as mad as she wants at me but she'll still sleep with me." Punk smirked. "She'll get over it."
"Are you going to apologize to her?" Jason asked.
"No but I did tell her that you put in my head so you're probably going to have to." Punk warned him.
"You fucking rat." Jason muttered.
"I wasn't going to take all of the heat." Punk laughed. "Mike is already on her shit list."
"So what are your thoughts on the professor situation?" Jason asked curiously.
"Same as it was before I spoke to you yesterday, I trust AJ and I trust if he did or said something to make her uncomfortable she'd tell me or take care of it herself." Punk said to him. "AJ isn't like Maria where she enjoys me getting jealous or fighting random guys who hit on her. It pisses her off actually. We were at a game a few weeks ago and some guy was looking at her ass and I said something and she got mad at me! Didn't talk to me for two days."
"She's not needy." Jason shrugged.
"I didn't even know women like that existed." Punk laughed.
"AJ is special." Jason agreed.
"It's nice but I never know if I'm doing the right thing. If I don't say something I'm afraid she'll think I don't care about her if I do she'll get pissed because she likes to take care of herself." Punk said to him.
"I'd still knock on that professor's door and talk to him if I was you." Jason said to him.
"No way." Punk scoffed. "I'm not staying on AJ's shit list I also don't want to spend a night in lockup because I attacked an innocent professor who has only helped AJ."
"Whatever." Jason said to him.
At school AJ stopped into Daren's office after class since Punk's words did start to bother her slightly. Daren had never made a pass at her but she re-read her paper a few times this morning and she wasn't sure it was worthy of the A+ she received.
"Hi Daren I hope I'm not bothering you." AJ said sticking her head into his office door.
"You're never a bother April, come in." Daren smiled waving her into the small office.
"I just wanted to talk to you about my paper." AJ said holding it out to me.
"You got the best grade in class." Daren told her proudly.
"Yea but I re-read it a few times and I don't know if I deserved this grade." AJ admitted and Daren laughed.
"I've never had a student argue that they received too good of a grade." Daren smiled. "You're something else April, that's why I like you."
"I mean it." AJ said standing her ground.
"If you didn't deserve the grade why would I give it to you?" Daren asked her.
"You tell me." AJ insisted. "My boyfriend and brother think you have different motives then just helping me study."
"Do they now?" Daren asked amused. "I do like spending time with you but anything more would be unethical since you're still my student for the next few weeks."
"That's what I told them." AJ said relieved.
"But in a few weeks things could be different." Daren said to her and AJ seemed confused. "I like spending time with you, you make my tasks more enjoyable." he said standing up from his chair. "And I know you enjoy spending time with me."
"I think you're great-" She began and saw him lock the office door and she was now freaked out.
"You can't tell me you haven't thought about it." Daren said walking over to her. "You volunteer to spend the time with me."
"For my grades." AJ argued. "I'm in a relationship."
"So am I." Daren smirked. "You want an A in my class and a guaranteed letter of commendation for me?"
"I thought that's what I've been working towards." AJ said confused.
"Let's not play games you're far too smart for this." Daren said to her.
"What are you trying to say?" AJ asked him.
"I'm not saying a thing." Daren said to her. "But I like you. I think about you a lot."
"What?" AJ asked with a laugh.
"You make me hard." he whispered into her ear and her face dropped. "I want you as much as you want me."
"I'm sorry but no." AJ laughed stepping away from him. "I'm very happy with my boyfriend and even if I didn't have one you aren't my type anyway."
"I understand April." Daren said to her. "We'll forget this conversation every happened." he said to her and she was relieved.
"Thank you." She said to him as Daren picked up her paper.
"You were right about your paper though." Daren said grabbing a red marker and changing the grade.
"An F?" AJ laughed. "That's not funny."
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Daren asked seriously. "Get the hell out of my office." He nodded for her to leave and she did.