AJ Lee's POV
One Week Later
God, I tried so hard to get time off. All I wanted to do was fly to Chicago and tell CM Punk I loved him. I almost called him, but this was something I wanted to do in person.
But, just my luck, all the flights were booked and our schedule was so hectic there wasn't any way I could drive all the way to Illinois. So, I waited patiently, but it was so difficult. He called me all the time to check up on me and make sure I was ok, and I always said everything was fine and I'd see him soon. It was cute to hear the concern in his voice. I constantly pictured his relieved face in my head. Every passing day just reminded me of how much I wanted to be in his embrace.
While Punk constantly tugged at my brain, there was another problem swirling around in my life. Paige. I was fine at first, I mean, friendships in WWE never last, but she was a master at getting under my skin. She purposely used my mental illness against me, telling the whole world that I had emotional issues and that I was, well, crazy. I then, in the heat of the moment, proved this to be true and attacked her, giving me that chaotic look that I tended to have most of the time.
Oh, I couldn't wait to get my hands on her and tear her raven locks out.
But tonight on Smackdown, I had a match with Rosa Mendez. Perfect. I planned on using her as an example. Paige would see that I wasn't one to be messed with. I could beat her, Bipolar Disorder or not.
I walked into the backstage portion of the arena as usual, but this time I didn't walk to the Divas locker room. I kept my duffle bag in my hand and walked into catering. Several of the superstars and divas were already there, talking amongst themselves and eating light portions of the food. I ignored all of their voices and grabbed myself a plate, filling it with everything from cheese to potato salad to the little chocolate chip cookies we all ate as guilty pleasures. I got a lot of strange looks because, obviously, I was tiny and couldn't eat all that food by myself, but I kept onward and walked out of the room and down the hall.
I continued to walk, skipping lightly as I did, until I reached the forbidden Authority hallway. I knocked on the door labeled Seth Rollins, smiling when he answered.
"Hey AJ," he said, opening the door so I could squeeze through. He quickly shut it behind him and I went to sit on one of the benches.
"I brought food," I said. His grin widened, sitting down next to me as I placed the food in between us. Seth didn't like going to catering because of the possibility of getting cornered and destroyed (because a good portion of the locker room wanted to kill him), so I offered to bring him food every now and then. In return, he would sometimes let me chill in his private, hairsprayless locker room.
"Yes! Cookies," Seth said, grabbing one of the cookies and stuffing it into his mouth. I grabbed one of the crackers I'd crammed on the plate as he spoke to me.
"So, how's everything?" he asked. I shrugged.
"Good, I guess," I said. "I was up all night cause of some stupid nightmare."
Seth chuckled slightly. "Join the club," he said, stuffing a few apple slices into his mouth. "I get em all the time."
"About what?" I asked, nibbling on my cracker.
"Depends. I mean, I didn't have a terrible childhood or anything, so I really don't know what triggers em. I didn't get em that bad a few months ago, but now-" Seth stopped himself. He didn't need to continue.
"It's fine," I said, not wanting the conversation to go any further. "You gotta match tonight?"
"Yeah," Seth replied. "Handicapped match. Kane and myself against Ambrose."
"Oh, fun," I said. I could tell he didn't look too pleased. "Hey, it'll be ok."
"What are you talking about?" Seth asked, grabbing the last of the cookies.
"Fighting Dean, it'll get better," I said. "I mean, fighting Kaitlyn wasn't always easy for me. It hurt me a little to know I my best friend was standing across from me instead of next to me in the ring. But before Kaitlyn left, I made amends with her. Sort of. So it'll get better, trust me."
Seth just continued to stare at me before rolling his eyes and smiling. "You always give the freaking sappiest pep talks."
"So do you!" I replied.
"Maybe, but not as sappy as yours are!" He exclaimed. We both started laughing at how stupid we sounded, then continued to talk about random things until the show started.
However, not before finishing off every crumb on the plate.
_____
Let's light it up. Light it up, light it up, light it tonight. That always confused me. What was I doing, setting a car on fire? I questioned my theme song as I skipped to the ring, where Rosa Mendez was already waiting for me to enter the ring. I stepped through the ropes, tucking my title away for safe keeping, and stood in front of her as the bell rang.
Rosa instantly started yelling at me. Something about how she wanted a title shot. I just mumbled under my breath and sent a kick to her midsection before tangling her into the Black Widow. She shrieked in pain and tapped her hand to signal surrender. I quickly let go of her, brushing myself off and receiving my diva's title from the ref. I walked back up the ramp and turned around, standing in front of the crowd and holding the diva's championship high above my head. A great The End to my storybook.
Unfortunately, fate didn't want that to be my fairy tale's last sentence.
A powerful set of arms pushed on my back, forcing my title to tumble out of my hands and resulting in me flying off the stage. I landed on the concrete below, my neck whipping back as I rolled to a stop.
My spine lit up in pain as I tried to regain my breathing, but I heard a voice calling out my name. "AJ," a British accent snuck through the air. It didn't take me long to figure out Paige was the one who shoved me. "I still love you!"
After that, her words became muffles in my mind. One of the refs tried to get a response out of me, but I continued to squeeze my eyes shut, not wanting to see the lights of the arena. All my brain could process was the fact that I wanted Punk to be here beside me.
Soon, I was being gently rotated onto my back as more medics began to surround me. I could barley hear them, my whole body felt numb and heavy. I could just tell they were getting worried about the fact that I was unresponsive.
After a few brief minutes, I felt something being placed around my neck as I was maneuvered onto a stretcher. I was slowly wheeled to the back and taken to the trainers, the bright lighting finally forcing my eyes to flutter open.
"Good, you're responding," the trainer stated. I continued to look up at him, helpless since I was completely immobile due to the neck brace. "How are you?"
"My neck hurts," I groaned. He looked down at his clipboard.
"Yes, that was expected. We think you suffered a bit of whiplash, but we can't be sure. The plan is to take you down to the local medical center and-"
"No!" I somehow forced out. I couldn't go to the hospital. If I did, I'd be stuck there until the house shows started. Then I'd be on the road again. I'd been away from Punk for too long, I wasn't about to spend the time I could be with him in a hospital.
"No?" The trainer questioned. "Why?"
Oh god, think AJ, think! "I-I need to be with Seth Rollins."
"Excuse me?" He questioned.
"I refuse to to anything unless I see Seth Rollins." It sounded stupid, but it was an excuse at least.
The trainer tapped his fingers, examining my form in the stretcher. "Fine. I believe he's in a match right now, but we'll wait."
I sighed in relief, trying to show my gratitude since I couldn't nod my head. My whole body was still stinging with pain, but I could hold off until Seth arrived. He was a critical part in my plan to get out of here.
After almost half an hour, I was starting to loose my consciousness but I continued to stay awake. I had to, I didn't have a choice. If I seemed out of it, they'd send me to the hospital no matter what. I couldn't risk it.
Minutes later, Seth swung open the door and looked at my frame lying on the stretcher in a neck brace. "AJ-"
"Doctor, could we have some privacy?" I requested. He nodded and left the room, leaving me and the two toned man alone.
"Why'd you want to see me? You should be at the hospital-"
"Seth, you have to get me out of here," I said. I saw his chocolate eyes light up in confusion. "I have to get to Chicago tonight. Just help me get to the parking lot!"
"What?" He exclaimed. "Hell no! You need to go to the hospital!"
"Please!" I pleaded. "I can't be in a hospital right now, Seth! I have to see him! I have to!" I could hear the pure desperation in my voice. I looked over at Seth. He looked conflicted, but finally his face settled on one expression. Serious.
"Ok," he said. "But you're not driving there alone."
"What?"
"I'll get you there. I'm not letting you drive to Chicago alone, you'll kill yourself."
I was in no position to protest, so I agreed. "Good. Now just follow my lead." Seth undid my neck brace and carefully picked me up as if I was a fragile, broken doll. He led us out of the room and turned to the trainer. "I'll take her to the hospital, she'll be fine. Don't worry."
The trainer looked like he wanted to object, but another figure started walking towards him before he could start. One Dean Ambrose. "Doc, can you check my shoulder to make sure it's not-" Dean's orbs found Seth's and a glare formed in his eyes. "What are you doing with her?"
I caught Seth trying to form words in his mouth, but he quickly gave up and turned around, making haste to his locker room. He tightened his grip around my waist as he started to move faster until we finally reached it. Seth kicked the door open and placed me down on the bench before slipping his thumbs under the waistband of his skintight pants. "Don't look."
I knew we had no time to spare, so I shielded my eyes as Seth stripped his ring gear. Once he was finished, I took my hand away from my face and saw he was now wearing an old Harry Potter shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. He yanked another t shirt out of his bag and threw it in my direction. I unfolded it to see Pierce The Veil plastered on the front.
"In case you get cold," Seth stated, throwing his duffle bag over his shoulder along with mine. "Do we need to go get your title?"
"No, I'll ask Emma to get it for me," I said. Emma and I were still friends and I prayed she'd be willing to help me out. "Do you need to go get your briefcase?"
"My briefcase- shit! My briefcase!" Seth exclaimed, breathing picking up slightly. "Uh, I doesn't matter, I'll have someone pick it up, let's get going." Without another word, he grabbed my wrist and we started running through the halls and into the parking lot. I could feel the whiplash kick in again and I softly cried out in pain. "AJ!"
"I-I'm fine, keep going!" I said. We continued onward until we reached his car and he fumbled around in his pocket for his keys. I weakly smiled. "Wanna make sure no one's in the trunk?"
"Ha ha, very funny," he said, finally finding his keys and unlocking the car. He threw our bags in the backseat and then helped me into the passenger's side. Once I was secure, Seth quickly jumped into the driver's position and cranked up the engine before stepping on the gas.
We drove for an hour straight with complete silence (which was odd because it wasn't exactly a secret he liked to blare heavy metal all the time on the road) until I finally broke the emptiness. "Seth?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm tired," my voice sounded so childish.
"No, you can't sleep, I'm sorry," he said. My eyes became even heavier.
"Please?" I asked.
"You're already hurt, we can't risk you slipping into a coma or something," Seth said. I horsey sighed and curled into myself. I was so tired, but I knew I couldn't sleep. Wanting a little relief, I closed my eyes and clutched the Pierce the Veil shirt close to my body.
As I felt myself start to relax, I heard a whisper come from Seth. It was barely audible, but I could still hear the desperate words slip fall from his lips.
"Please be ok, you're all I have left."
A/N: Isn't their friendship adorable? And if any of you are worried about this becoming a love triangle, don't worry, it's not. Seth and AJ's relationship is more of a brother/sister one.
Ugh, we're coming to a close on this book. Only three or four chapters left! That's so sad! :( But, have no fear, AJ and Punk will return, for I am writing a Shield fan fiction and they will be some of the two most reoccurring side characters. And guys, they're gonna be so freaking cute! They're gonna be that couple everyone wants to be because they're so adorable!
Anyway, back to the actual story itself. Will AJ and Seth, you know, get to the Chicago in time or is this whole trip just gonna make AJ's medical situation worse? Stay tuned!
- El ♥️