As countless sleepless nights passed by, AJ had retreated to her house for the past week, coming out only when she had an appearance scheduled for the day. Luckily, she only had two signings to attend and they were without CM Punk. She knew that Kaitlyn was worried sick about her, because she couldn't stop texting or calling, and AJ ignored her phone every time it rang or beeped. It was a very rude thing to do when there were people who cared and looked out for her, but she wished to be left alone without anyone talking to her and asking her questions.

Punk had tried to call several times as well, and as much as she wanted to pick up the phone, she just buried her head into her pillow even more to drown out the annoying ringtone. She didn't know what was coming over her. It wasn't as if she wasn't already used to being without Dean, but she couldn't live with the guilt that he made her feel after that night of the house warming party. He never had a chance with her, yet she continued to lead him on. How could she use a person like that? Didn't she learn anything from getting hurt by Daniel or Punk? Didn't she remember those times where she cried because they never gave her what she wanted? She did the same to Dean, and it felt horrible. She was such an awful human being.

By the time it was 3 AM, she was still tossing and turning in her bed. Every time she got an eye shut, she'd wake up frightened and lost. She still had time to get used to her new home and with all that has happened with Dean a few days ago, she couldn't focus and concentrate on her well being.

She looked at her phone and there were about 5 missed calls from Kaitlyn, and 2 from CM Punk. She bit her lip, and thought that it was a long shot, but she knew that Punk never got an eye shut during the night, and chances of him being awake were highly possible. She hit the call button and planned that she would hang up after the fifth beep.

She prayed that he'd pick up right away and after the third beep, she was already convinced that he was fast asleep. "Hello?" a low groggy voice said on the other line.

"Punk, it's AJ…" she didn't know any other ways of introducing herself, even though his phone must have had her name written down on the screen when she was calling. He must've picked up without even looking.

"Is something wrong, AJ?" Punk immediately asked her. She smiled to herself at how worried he always was about her.

AJ stared at the ceiling and tried so hard to find the right words to say, "Where are you, Punk? I sorta need you right now." She bit her lip because she thought that she could have worded it better than that. She didn't want to sound desperate, even if she was.

She could hear Punk sigh on the other line. She thought that the only time he finally got to sleep; she had to wake him up and make him get out of bed. "You're at home?"

"Yeah."

"Give me 20 minutes." And he immediately hung up.

Punk got up from his bed, and looked in the mirror. Hell it was 3AM, looking good was not on his list of priorities. He grabbed his rental car keys, and prayed that he wouldn't get lost again on his way to her new place.

She smiled to herself, and then instantly was reminded that she was in her PJ's. She went to the bathroom, to check herself out, and she just readjusted some of her curls putting them right in their place. It wasn't the time to make herself look pretty.

She went to the living room and walked past Dean's little unopened present that was sitting on her coffee table mocking her. She didn't want to open it, no matter how many times she was curious to see what was inside the box. She didn't even want to touch it, because she believed that what was inside was going to make her cry even more. He must have spent ages to pick out the right gift that she didn't deserve.

By the time it was 3.30AM, there was a knock on the front door. "AJ, it's me." She heard Punk's voice and she was immediately relieved. She felt uncomfortable at how much happy she immediately got when she heard his knock.

She went up to the door and opened it to find CM Punk almost half asleep standing up. "Oh Punk I'm so glad you're here." She immediately went for a hug and she was amazed at how comfortable she was around him again. He equally returned the hug, but she knew he was tired.

"Don't worry, I won't be bugging you with my problems, I just don't want to be alone. You can sleep here if you want." She stepped aside for Punk to walk in, and he wiped his feet on her Welcome mat and entered.

"I wasn't planning on leaving after an hour anyways." He smiled at her and walked into the living room and immediately threw himself on the couch and hugged one of her pink pillows tightly around his chest. "Mm, goodnight." He mumbled under his breath. He rubbed his face against the pillow, loving how it smelled like it just came from the washing. It smelled like lavender.

"Oh no you're not leaving me alone just yet!" She went over and sat on his back and started bouncing up and down. "Wake the fuck up! Wake up!" She dragged on the last word and started shouting over and over again.

"You! Shut the hell up!" And he turned on his back and he immediately caught her by the waist. "You woke me up, now you have to sleep." He grabbed her by her hand and dragged her down to lie right next to him, facing the other way. He wrapped his hands around her tummy and squeezed her against himself. "You're like a little teddy bear, AJ Lee. You know that?"

"Punk, I can't move!" She tried to wriggle her way out of CM Punk's grasp, but he was stronger than her.

"You can't always have it your way, sweetie pie. Now sleep!" He kissed the back of her head and nuzzled his face in the pillow he was resting on.

"This is so not fair!"

"You don't talk when you sleep!"

"I am not going to sleep, until you talk to me."

"Your hair always smelled so nice. Remind me to borrow your shampoo when I wake up tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is actually today, you know."

"Goodight, AJ." She felt CM Punk take a deep breath and slowly exhaling and she knew that he would be out cold within minutes. This was so not the point of him coming over, and she rolled her eyes to the ceiling and sighed. Despite still being wide awake alone, she was comforted by CM Punk's hand around her waist and his faint audible breathing patterns. She was glad he wasn't a snorer. She couldn't imagine spending the rest of the night hearing him snore behind her ear.

She looked at the little box in front of her, sitting on the coffee table, and she bit her lip. She didn't want to open it. It was her gift after all, and she did have a slight curiosity as to what Dean had purchased for her, but something inside her made her feel as if touching the box itself would be bad. How could she accept a gift from someone she had hurt? How could she open a gift from a guy, when there was another man sleeping on her couch with his hand around her waist?

She slowly turned around, and looked up to CM Punk. She smiled to herself as all of her memories with him flooded her mind. They had been through so much, and even though she wanted to kill him at several points throughout their relationship and friendship, she couldn't help but think that he had always tried to do his best to remain in her life no matter how hard she tried to push him away.

His hair was messy, and his beard looked like it needed a trim, but he almost looked perfect to her. She snuggled closely, and as if Punk knew what she had in mind, he immediately positioned himself on his back and gave AJ space to rest her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his hand around her back and he pressed her tightly against him.

"You know I really care for you, right AJ?" She heard him say. It almost startled her, since she was sure that he was knocked out. He must have been a really great actor.

AJ smiled to herself and said, "I know." She looked up to him, and he immediately opened his eyes to meet with hers.

"I may be an asshole, but please know that I always have good intentions when I'm with you. I want to be in your life whether you like it or not, AJ, and I hope you can realize that I will go to a lot of ends just to see you happy." His whispers filled the dark, and she didn't know why he wasn't using his normal voice but it still sent shivers down her spine.

"Why are you telling me this, Punk?"

"Because you need to know that there are people out there who care for you and love you, AJ. You can't shut us out. I'm glad you called me tonight." He kissed her forehead and she truly felt loved at that very second.

"Sometimes I wish we had met on better terms. Maybe something good would have actually come out of our relationship." She truthfully commented. There was no point in twisting words; she wanted to tell it like it is.

"You think nothing came out of our relationship? I'm here, aren't I? And we're not dating, nor are we having sex. If it wasn't for that night in my car, none of this would have happened."

"If we were meant to be friends, something would have happened anyways." She shrugged her shoulders and closed her eyes. She could feel him move his head to look down at her. She opened her eyes to meet his. Even in the dark, she could still imagine how green they were, and she remembered how much they used to make her melt.

"I wish I could kiss you so I could shut you up, AJ Lee." He gave her a half smile and looked up to the ceiling again.

AJ's eyes widened and she bit her lip. Not in a million years would she ever dream of CM Punk telling her such words. After a brief pause, she replied, "What's stopping you?"

"Respect and loyalty."

She could feel her mouth getting dry and somehow the temperature in the room was rising. She gulped. It seemed like as if those feelings she once felt that night in his car were all coming back. "Those things shouldn't stop you from doing what you want to do."

"I don't care what I want to do, you are important to me, AJ. I don't want to go down that road again." CM Punk's immediate reply hit her like a ton of bricks, and she didn't even know if she should be glad or offended. He didn't want to go down that road again? As in, he didn't want to date her again? CM Punk only saw her as a little sister he vowed to protect and nothing more.

She didn't have anything else to say to him, his words were loud and clear and she closed her eyes again. Why did his words hurt her that much? Maybe it was because she was overtired and she couldn't get an eye shut. She wondered what time it was, but couldn't be bothered to check the clock on the wall. She figured that light will enter the room soon, and that she had to sleep before she could see another sunrise.

"You don't have anything else to say?" Punk finally broke her train of thought. He was on the edge of his seat to hear her thoughts.

"What else is there? I got your message." She removed herself from off his shoulder and moved the hand she was resting on. She turned on her side again, giving him her back and she closed her eyes again. She didn't know why she was feeling this angry.

She heard him sigh behind her, as he ran a hand through his jet black hair. "Don't fucking do this to me AJ, please. I love you way too much to hurt you."

"Kissing me won't hurt me." She immediately retorted.

"What about in the long run? You'll end up feeling guilty, and we will put ourselves in the same mess we were in before."

"I only asked for a kiss, Punk. I feel so fucking lonely and lost, I don't even know what to do with myself sometimes…-"

"And you think a kiss will make it all better? Like it will magically disappear anything that is bothering you?"

"For a couple of seconds, it would."

"You're fucking crazy, AJ."

"So you don't want to give me a kiss, but instead you're actually resorting to name calling now." She got up from the couch, and continued, "I'm going to my bed, have fun on the couch." And she made her way to her bedroom.

She could hear him groan, and part of her wished that he would get up and follow her, but as she slipped under the covers and stayed wide awake for a couple of minutes trying to digest what actually happened, she gave up on him. He must have already slept by now. Why was she being so over dramatic? He was only looking out for her. Why was she being so selfish?

As the remainder of the night rolled by, by 10am AJ opened her eyes to meet the sun shining through the blinds. She groaned at the bright light, and turned to her side covering herself with the sheets. This was too early for her. As she rubbed her eyes, she could see a pair of legs right next to her and she immediately peeled the covers off her face too meet with a sleeping CM Punk right next to her on the other pillow. She was startled at first, but she quickly smiled as she heard Punk mumble something in his sleep. He looked like an angel. She never knew that she could use the words CM Punk and an angel in the same sentence, but that was what she initially thought at the sight of him.

She wondered when he had got into bed. She must have been way too exhausted to feel him slipping under the covers right next to her. Oh my gosh, did we have sex? AJ's eyes widened and she immediately checked to see if she was fully clothed under the covers. Luckily she still had her Hello Kitty pj's on.

She wanted to run a hand through his hair and touch his beard with the back of her hand, and feel how rough it would be against her skin, but she didn't want to wake him up. She liked the fact that she wasn't alone in her bed. It had been a while since she shared it with someone else, even if it wasn't intimately. She was enjoying this, and she enjoyed it more knowing that it was CM Punk and not some random guy she met at a bar or something. But then again, she would never get caught having a one night stand with some guy from a bar. She shook her head, and dismissed her train of thought. She was over thinking too much.

Punk finally opened his eyes, and he immediately looked over to his left to check on AJ. He was met with a warm smile on her face. "Morning." He managed to say in a hoarse voice, and he cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes.

"How did you end up in my bed, Punk?" She didn't take time to beat about the bush, but she was simply curious.

Punk sighed, at the fact that it hadn't been a minute since he had woken up, and she was already being a pain in the ass. "I didn't want to leave you alone. I didn't do anything, if that's what you're asking." He tore off the covers, and started to get up, but AJ immediately caught his arm. "I'm not ready to get up yet. Let's be lazy today."

Punk, confused he said, "Okay?" He lied back down and turned onto his side to face AJ. "Now what?" He gave her a small smile, and looked into her eyes. Her eyes still looked tired and he could tell that she really did not want to get out of bed. "Your hair's a mess, AJ."

"Like yours is any different." They both shared a small laugh, and both of them felt comfortable around each other, in the same bed.

"How are you, AJ?" AJ knew that he was referring to the whole Dean incident back at the house warming party.

"I guess I'm okay now. It takes time to get over things as always, but I'm dealing with it the best way I know how." She gave him an empty smile, and continued, "I still haven't opened his gift. I don't know why, but I'm afraid to do so."

Punk examined her face, and listened attentively, "We could open it together, if you want." He said after a brief pause. He didn't know exactly how it was going to help her, but at least she wouldn't be alone when she'd do it.

"I don't know why I'm acting this way. I mean, for all I know he could have gave me some stupid figurine or those salt and pepper pots."

"But they will still mean something to you just because it was Dean who gave them to you, even if they were just salt and pepper pots." He smiled at the fact that only AJ could think of something like that, and that made him appreciate her more. He hated the fact that he cared so much for her, even if she was talking about another guy. He didn't feel jealous, he felt more irritated that he had to deal with Dean's shit just because he was a stupid man.

"What happened after I left, AJ?" He removed a lock that fell right in front of her face, and he stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. Her skin was still smooth and soft like he remembered.

"Oh, same old story. He still thinks that there's something between you and I, and he was upset that I could never love him like I loved you."

AJ's use of the past tense hit him like a ton of bricks. "So you don't love me anymore?" He didn't think before he uttered those words, and he wanted to take them back but now as the seconds passed by, he realized that AJ wasn't prepared for a question like that.

She bit her lip, and sighed, "Don't take me word for word. I still care for you, Punk." There she was, talking about Dean for a second, and now she had to face Punk with these stupid yet complicated questions. She regretted opening her mouth in the first place.

"So why did you want me to kiss you, AJ? If you care for me that much, didn't you think about my feelings when you asked me? How do you think that would make me feel if I had kissed you, and then we'd end up right here talking about Dean?" Punk waited for her answer impatiently, and he tried to calm his nerves down. He didn't want to argue with her again, he was over all the drama they had caused between them.

AJ groaned and sat up, "Are you seriously going to do this to me right now?" She ran a hand over her face and looked at CM Punk.

"I'm not arguing with you, AJ, I am more curious. If we ended up kissing, tell me what exactly were you going to get out of it?" He sat up right next to her and she brought her knees up and hugged them. She thought about it, but she couldn't come up with a decent answer.

"I just wanted to feel loved, I guess." She shrugged her shoulders, and thought that that was a corny answer, but she couldn't take it back now.

Punk stared the wrinkles of the bed sheet, and he ran his tongue over his lip ring, "What do you see in me?"

AJ furrowed her eyebrows, and felt hesitant to open her mouth again. She could have gone to a million interviews, but no question would have been hard like the one Punk had just asked her. "What do you mean?"

"I know we're close friends, but," he kept fumbling with his fingers, and he seemed to be tongue tied, "What are your thoughts about me? When you see me or look at me, what do you initially think? I know we've had some ups and downs, and sometimes you want to kill me when you see me around, but I know you don't think that all the time, or at least that's what I'd like to think." He gave her a small smile and she returned it back.

AJ took a couple of moments to think it through. She wanted to use the right words, so she wouldn't end up hurting him in the wrong way. "Well, for starters we have been through a lot." Punk nodded in agreement. "I think if it wasn't for you, I would still be Bryan's pet." She nervously bit her lip. It must have been the first time in her life that she was going to be open and truthful with somebody. "You thought me how to really love, and you showed me passion and I can't say those nights with you didn't mean a thing, because I still get the tingles when I think about them. I sometimes have a love hate relationship with you, like you said, sometimes I want to kill you, and sometimes I just want to be with you even though I might not show it. In fact I get mad at myself for wanting to be around you, but I guess I can't help it."

"Do you think if it wasn't for Dean, we would still have something between us?"

"I think that we can date a million people, but somehow we will still find ourselves falling right back to each other. We can try to prevent it, but it will still end up happening sooner or later."

"What about our friendship?"

"I don't want to lose it."

"Do you think we'll end up losing it, if none of it works out?"

Was Punk hinting at a future relationship between the two? "I don't think so, I mean look at all the shit we've been through and we're still here. Ugh, Punk this is too early for me. I know you are desperate to know about my real thoughts and feelings, but it's like too much for me right now." She ran a hand through her messy hair, and looked over at Punk.

He looked up to meet with her brown eyes and nodded. "I'm sorry."

"But there is something I need you to do with me."

"What?"

"I want you to be there when I open Dean's present. I just, I don't know, I can't do it alone. It's been there a while now, and I always think it's laughing at me. It's absurd and I want to get this over with." She shook her head and buried her head in her knees.

"Come here." Punk tugged at her hand and pulled her close to him. He wrapped his tattooed hand around her shoulders, and kissed her forehead. "We'll do whatever you want. I'll be there with you all the way."

"This is so stupid. I don't know why I'm being this over dramatic." He started to rub her arm consolingly, and she buried her head in his shoulder even more. His own fragrance filling her nostrils and she inhaled deeply, savoring his scent and enjoying it as long as it lasted. She loved it.

"Come on." He got off the bed and extended a hand out for her to take. "I think the sooner you do it the better. It's no use always putting it off for later all the time. You're going to open the gift sooner or later."

Without any word or hesitation, AJ took his hand and got off the bed. As they walked out of the bedroom, she remembered that she wasn't wearing any bra under her PJ's, but she couldn't care less. It was CM Punk, he had seen her naked before, she had nothing to be ashamed of.

"Where is it?" he immediately asked once they were in living room.

"It's that pink box on the coffee table." She pointed at it, but she stood at door frame. She let Punk walk over to it, and grabbed it by one hand. He walked over to her and handed it in her hands. He gave her a comforting smile, and said, "Come on, AJ."

She nodded and gulped. She was going to do this. Punk watched every muscle movement, as she delicately pulled the pink ribbon, and it fell right to her feet. She opened the lid and her eyes widened.

"What is it?"

"It's a bracelet." She took out the silver bracelet, and she noticed that it had some writing on it. She cursed the fact that she didn't have her glasses on and she squinted her eyes as she tried to make out the words engraved into it. "We…" she started to read around the bracelet," might not be together, but I'll always be with you." She dropped her hand down and looked at Punk.

"Are you okay?"

"I… don't know. I think when he came to the party; he had wanted to patch things up, but then he saw you and everything backfired for him. Oh, god. That's why he was so hurt." She covered her mouth and let the tears fill her eyes. "I'm such an awful person, Punk." She handed him the bracelet and the box and ran back to her bedroom.

"Shit." Punk mumbled under his breath and went running after her.