Cuts Heal In Time (CM Punk)

Chapter 5: Surprise!

January 2012

Punk: You have to come to the Royal Rumble

Colt: Yeah you can sit next to me!!

Bella: Tempting as that sounds, I have to ask my boss! He was so kind to let me come back

After the afterparty of Money in the Bank and the advice she received from Punk, Bella was feeling fearless. She and Jade had a long talk the next day, and a week later, she packed her things and moved to Mexico to begin wrestling again.

Bella was over the moon to be doing what she loved once again. She truly felt like she was following her destiny, though she missed her home and her best friend. Luckily she got to go home on the weekends, so she still saw her three friends.

Even when they couldn't physically be with each other, Bella, Colt, Jade, and Punk kept in contact, getting to know each other over the phone.

Bella had been killing it in Mexico. She hadn't lost a match. She was a pretty big deal in the wrestling world before, but now her stock was through the roof. Punk and Colt didn't realize this the night they first met, but after stalking her online for the next couple days, they realized how big she had been in Mexico, Japan, and the Indies.

Though Punk was super proud of her, he wished he could see more of her, so he had gotten her and Jade tickets to go to the Royal Rumble, and he had a surprise waiting for her for when she came.

Punk: I'm not taking no for an answer

Bella: The way my boss is hounding me, you might just have to come to Mexico and rescue me

Colt: Yeah, about that...

Her phone began to ring, and it was Punk. Seeing his name brought a smile to her face. She texted Colt more than him, but she and Punk spoke on the phone every single day. They had made a point to speak on the phone at night before they went to bed- or at least before Bella went to bed, considering the fact that Punk was a night owl.

She never would've thought CM Punk of all people would become her best guy friend.

"Hey stranger," she greeted him.

"Hey Bells," Jade had told him about the dreaded nickname, "I love what you're doing with your hair."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"But how-"

"Look behind you," she slowly turned around to see her tattooed friend standing behind her with a goofy grin on his face. She couldn't contain her excitement, running up to him and plowing him over with a hug.

The night they all met, Colt and Punk were talking about how they thought she wasn't a touchy person. But that couldn't be further from the truth. She was actually a pretty affectionate person once you got to know her. The same went for her being quiet. The more they got her to open up, most of which was done over phone calls and facetime, the more she wouldn't shut up. And whenever she came home to Chicago, they would all hang out.

Jade was right. Getting to know Bella was one of the best decisions Punk and Colt had ever made.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him, in disbelief.

"I'm rescuing you."

"I can't believe you're here."

"Well, I figured, I could watch you fight tonight, and then I could bring you to St. Louis for the Rumble," Punk suggested.

"So, I guess that means you'll be talking to my boss?" She asked him with raised eyebrows.

"I guess it does," he sighed, giving in.

She wrapped her arm around his waist and began showing him around. She seemed so excited to be there with him.

"You look great," he said, out of the blue.

"Thanks, buddy," she smiled. She didn't know what he was talking about. She definitely looked crazy. She had just finished working out with the woman she was facing tonight, "You look okay I guess."

He rolled his eyes at his friend who couldn't stop smiling.

"I can't wait for you to see this place when people start getting here. It's incredible."

------------------------------------
The match had just finished, and the referee held Bella's hand up in victory. She had main-evented the show, and she blew everyone away. The woman she fought against was no slouch either.
Punk now had a seemingly permanent smile on his face, as he put his phone down. He had videotaped the whole match and sent it to Vince.
She rolled out the ring and walked straight to Punk, "So what'd you think?"
He noticed that she was practically wincing, anticipating some form of criticism.
"You were amazing."
"You think so?"
"I know so."
She smiled to herself, looking relieved, before saying, "Well. I'm going to go change, and I'll meet you out here."
"Okay." He told her, as she walked away.
After about ten minutes, she still wasn't finished, but Vince responded: you're right. Hasn't missed a beat
Punk was proud of himself. He knew his friend would be ecstatic to hear that Vince McMahon wanted to meet with her.
Punk: I told you she's special.
Vince: Did you get her to agree to come to the Rumble?
Punk: yeah I talked to her boss before the match
Vince: Do you know what they're paying her?
Punk: no idea.
Vince: Find out?
Punk: isn't that something you should do when you meet her?
Vince: Probably

Punk didn't respond when he saw his beautiful friend come out from the locker room.
"Hey," she beamed. She was clearly so excited to be wrestling again. She had this newfound confidence that continued growing the more she wrestled.
"Hey," he said, not quite knowing how to tell her what he wanted to say.
"What's up?" She asked, noticing that he wanted to say something else.
"Okay. I'll just say it," he breathed out, "Vince McMahon wants to meet with you at the Rumble."
She looked surprised, but she didn't really look happy.
"Vince McMahon?" She asked
"Yeah, I've been telling him about you for a while now, and I sent him a video of your match. He was impressed."
"I just- WWE. That's different."
"You've wrestled everywhere else," he said, looking confused.
"It's just. There's a lot of people watching."
She was thinking about a couple people in particular that she didn't want to see her on television, assuming Vince would even sign her.
"That's the beauty of it," Punk said.
"I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, I just started wrestling again."
"Yeah and even Vince said you haven't missed a beat."
"But-" she started but he cut her off, "You're already head and shoulders above all the other divas. I'm telling you, you'll fit right in."
She couldn't really articulate how she was feeling and she still wasn't that comfortable explaining why she felt so weird about this. She knew he was trying to be nice, but she wasn't looking for a "better" situation.
"Look, I didn't mean to force this on you. You can still come to the Rumble, without meeting Vince," he reassured her.
"Yeah, I could," she shrugged.
"Just promise me you'll think this over on the plane. This could be a huge opportunity for you," he said, wrapping an arm around her sweaty shoulders.
"I'll think about it." She responded, leaning into her friend who smelt so good. She missed that smell.
Though the WWE is huge and she loved watching it, she was comfortable here. She didn't put as much pressure on herself as she did before, and going to the WWE might bring back old emotions and habits.
She would definitely have to think this over.