A/N: Chapter 1 takes place during the end of August, so it's not counted in the 10 months left until Seth's wedding.
This first chapter just introduces the main characters and the main plot.
The first chapter is important, but the story doesn't "really" start until the second chapter.
I made John and Seth a few years closer in age, so there's not such a huge age gap.
I got the title of this fic and the premise from the Ella Mae Bowen song "Hold Out For A Hero."
I hope that all of you who read enjoy this!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the wrestlers, they all belong to WWE. If I owned John or Seth, I'd never leave my apartment.
Holding Out For A Hero
Seth Rollins or Mr. Rollins as his students call him, is running late. Between the fight with his fiancé and his car not wanting to start on the first try, this isn't his best morning. He's tired and he doesn't even have time to get a cup of coffee. All of the good parking spots are taken, so he has to park in the back parking lot which is further away from his classroom. By the time he gathers his belongings, he realizes that he only has 4 minutes to get to his Algebra I class. He's in such a rush that he's not paying attention to where he's going and he bumps into someone, sending his messenger bag flying. The polite stranger picks up his bag for him.
"Thank you!" Seth expresses his extreme gratitude.
Seth realizes that the unfamiliar man that he collided with is probably the new teacher in the classroom across from his. Normally, Seth would have introduced himself and offered his assistance, but he's just in such a hurry this morning. He looks at his watch when he makes it to his class and he frowns because he is 2 minutes late. He quickly starts up his computer and addresses his students.
"I am so sorry that I am late. I promise that I'll be on time tomorrow," Seth guarantees.
"I guess we'll give you a break since this is your first time being late," Kelly, Seth's favorite student, comments.
Seth smiles. "I appreciate it."
Despite the rocky start to Seth's day, his first 3 sections go by pretty quickly. He's grateful that it's time for lunch though. He enters the cafeteria and he walks over to sit at his usual table with his closest colleagues. There's Phil, who prefers to be called Punk. Punk is one of the most popular teachers because he's so laid back and he teaches all of the art courses. There's Stephen, a tall, extremely pale ginger with a great physique, who is the P.E. teacher, of course. There's Nattie, short for Natalya and she teaches American History.
"I hope you don't mind that I invited the new guy to sit with us," Natalya mentions.
"I'm fine with that. I actually ran into him earlier and I practically blew him off because I was running late," Seth replies.
"He mentioned something about that," Nattie notifies him.
They start talking about how their days have played out so far and they begin eating. Seth is in the middle of a sentence when he sees the new teacher approaching the table. Now, he knows why Natalya asked him to sit with them. Nattie is obviously attracted to him. He is actually very pleasing to the eye. He has short brown hair, gorgeous baby blue eyes, and bulging muscles. When he smiles, he reveals the cutest dimples.
"I'm John Cena. I teach English I and Creative Writing," He greets.
"These are my friends Punk and Stephen. You briefly met Seth earlier," Natalya introduces.
"Wow! You teach English and you have a body like that?" Stephen asks with a confused expression.
John laughs. "I get that a lot. I'm very active when I'm not in the classroom."
"Clearly," Natalya comments in a flirtatious tone.
"I'm sorry if I appeared rude earlier. I was running really late and―"
John cuts him off. "It's ok. Natalya told me that you're a really nice guy and that you were probably just having an off morning. It happens to the best of us."
John shoots Seth a dimpled grin and Seth has to try not to blush. Nattie begins flirting with John halfheartedly and Seth wonders if John may have told her that he has a girlfriend or something. Seth tries to follow the group conversation and contribute, but he manages to only focus on John. Seth hasn't felt an attraction to someone in so long that it seems foreign to him. Seth finishes his food and looks at his watch.
"I should start heading back. I'll talk to you guys later," Seth remarks.
Seth loves how much quicker his day flies by after lunch. He has 2 more Algebra I sections to teach and then he has a free period to end his day. He normally grades assignments or goes over his lesson plans during this time. Seth notices that there's no noise coming from John's classroom across the hall and he wonders if John has a free period too. He grabs the key to his door and decides to see what John is up to. Seth sees that the door is cracked, but he still knocks before entering.
"So, you do have a free period right now," Seth confirms as he walks up to John's desk.
"Yeah, I do," John answers.
"I was just wondering why it was so quiet. I'm not used to it. The teacher who was here before used to take his free periods in the middle of the day," Seth explains.
"I like being able to wind down at the end of my day," John says.
"Me too. Well, I'll stop bothering you now," Seth says awkwardly.
Seth turns to leave and he finds himself blushing again when he looks behind him and sees John showing those damn adorable dimples. Seth packs up his quizzes because he knows that he's not going to grade them until later. His phone vibrates in his pocket and he frowns when he sees that he has a text message from Dean. Seth decides to read it reluctantly. The message says that Dean won't be home until tomorrow morning and Seth actually feels relieved. Seth locks his classroom as he leaves for the day.
"Fuck!" Seth exclaims because his car won't start.
"Is that any kind of language to use in a school parking lot," John teases as he walks by.
"This is high school; they use worse language every day. I'm just frustrated with my car right now," Seth replies.
"What's wrong with it?" John asks in a concerned voice.
"It won't start. I had some trouble with it this morning, but I obviously made it here," Seth answers.
"Do you need a jump?" John offers.
"Yeah, that might help. Thanks," Seth comments.
"I'm not parked too far, I'll pull my car up," John lets him know.
Seth grabs the jumper cables from the trunk and he untangles them as he waits for John to bring his car around. After the cables are connected, John starts his car. After waiting for a few minutes, Seth tries starting his car again and once again it doesn't work. He tries a few more times and his car is still not turning on. Seth removes the jumper cables and thanks John for helping.
"Why don't you call to get your car towed and I'll take you home?" John suggests.
"Are you sure? I don't want to inconvenience you―"
John cuts him off. "It's fine. I wanted to grab a bite to eat before I go home anyway. Are you hungry?"
"Actually, I am," Seth states.
John lets Seth take control of the music and he chooses an alternative rock station. John is craving BBQ and he checks with Seth to see if that's ok. Seth nods in agreement. After driving for 10 minutes, John finds the place that caught his eye earlier in the day. When John parks, Seth is surprised when he walks over to his side of the car and opens the door for him.
"Well, aren't you a nice gentleman," Seth teases in a high pitched voice.
"Well, mama raised me right," John replies with an exaggerated southern accent.
The restaurant isn't very crowded, so they pick the first table that they see. A waiter is with them almost immediately to hand them their menus and to ask them what they want to drink. Seth and John both want water. Their waiter leaves and they start browsing the menu. Once they know what they want to order, Seth decides to start the conversation.
"So, John, are you new to Illinois or just the school?" Seth is curious.
"I am new to the state. I moved here from a small town in Massachusetts. I actually just visited Chicago for the first time last week," John reveals.
"I hope that everyone's treating you well so far," Seth tells him.
"Everyone has been extremely welcoming. I think that I'm going to like it here," John predicts.
"You're a long way from home, what brings you to a random suburban Chicago town?" Seth wonders.
"I just needed a change in scenery," John vaguely answers.
Their waiter comes back soon with their glasses of ice water and he takes down their orders quickly. Seth wants a BBQ chicken sandwich and John wants a basket of rib tips with fries. Seth continues to uncover a little more about John's background and he really likes him. Seth doesn't want to talk much about himself and his life, so he deflects and tries to keep John talking.
"How did you get into teaching English and Creative Writing?" Seth inquires.
"English was always my best subject in school. I've always expressed myself through music and loved creative writing. I thought it would be cool to teach it," John responds.
"I imagine that grading all of the papers can be a pain at times," Seth surmises.
"The ones that are badly written make me want to claw my eyes out," John jokes.
Seth laughs and John joins in. It's been such a long time since Seth has genuinely laughed. When their food arrives a few moments later, John immediately starts tearing into his rib tips. Seth is entertained just watching the muscular man devour his food. Seth lets out a small noise of pleasure when he takes a small bite of his sandwich. John smiles at his reaction. After taking a few more bites, Seth gets BBQ sauce on the corner of his mouth.
"You have some sauce by your mouth," John notifies him.
Seth dabs with his napkin. "Did I get it?"
"Other side," John directs.
"Now?" Seth questions after wiping the left corner of his mouth.
"No. I'll get it for you," John volunteers.
Seth expects John to grab a napkin to clean his mouth, so he's surprised when he feels John's bare hand briefly graze him. Seth's body shivers involuntarily from the quick, short touch. John is not left unaffected from their brisk contact either; his thumb tingles after touching the smooth skin of Seth's face. Seth eats slower than he normally does because he's not ready to go home yet.
"I pass by this place every morning and I've never thought to eat here," Seth admits.
"Well, I love BBQ and it's halfway between the school and my apartment. I also hate to cook," John explains.
"I cook almost every night, so going out is nice," Seth comments.
"That must be exhausting," John guesses.
Seth shrugs. "It is, but I do what I have to."
John asks for the check while Seth is finishing his meal. Seth isn't paying attention, so he doesn't notice that John takes care of the bill. When he's finally done eating, Seth excuses himself to go to the bathroom. John drinks the rest of his water and waits patiently for Seth to come back to the table. Seth reaches into his pocket and takes out his credit card before he sits down back in his seat.
"I already took care of the bill," John lets him know.
"You didn't have to do that. I can pay you back―"
John waves him off. "There's no need to pay me back, Seth. Sometimes, people do nice things without expecting anything in return. This is one of those instances."
"I appreciate it, but you really didn't have to do that," Seth points out.
"I get the feeling that you don't let people do things for you," John observes.
"Why do you feel that?" Seth wonders as they walk to John's car.
"Because you're a teacher. Naturally, you put helping others above everything else," John states.
Seth doesn't have a retort because John is spot on with his theory. Seth always puts others' wants and needs before his own. John has to ask for directions to Seth's house because he hasn't unpacked his GPS yet. Seth's house is only about a 15 minute drive from the restaurant. When John pulls into Seth's driveway, he lets out a low sound of appreciation.
"Wow! I need to become a math teacher so that I can afford a place like this!" John jokes.
"It was a gift from my fiancé's parents. His family is very rich, so they have to overdo everything," Seth discloses.
"You're engaged?" John questions.
"Yeah. We're getting married in June, a week after the school year ends," Seth reveals.
"Congratulations," John tells him.
"Thank you," Seth softly replies.
"You're welcome. I have some papers to grade so I should get back home," John changes the subject.
"Ok. Thanks for everything and have a good night, John," Seth says.
John forces a smile. "You too."
John kicks off his shoes and grabs a can of beer from his refrigerator when he gets home. He takes out all of the papers from his work bag and sets them on the coffee table in his living room. He's halfway through editing an essay when his phone rings. He contemplates ignoring it, but when he sees that it's his best friend, he decides to answer.
"Hey Johnny!" Cody greets eagerly.
"Hey Codes," John greets unenthusiastically.
"What's wrong? Were the kids mean to you?" Cody wants to know.
"No, my students were pretty great. The staff was really amazing too," John tells him.
Cody pouts. "Then why do you sound so crestfallen?"
"I met a guy, the teacher across the hall from me, actually. His name is Seth and I thought that we had a bit of a connection. But . . . " John trails off.
"Is he straight?" Cody guesses.
"No, it's even worse. He's engaged," John answers.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Johnny," Cody apologizes.
John sighs. "You know that I'm not a home wrecker, so I have to forget about him."
"What if his home is already wrecked? I mean you did feel a connection, right? If he was happily engaged, I don't think he would have sent out those vibes," Cody argues.
"It doesn't matter, Cody. The fact remains that he's engaged. It's not up to me to determine if Seth is happy in his relationship or not," John counters.
"You're right. It's just after everything that you've gone through, it'd be nice if you could find happiness," Cody proclaims.
"I know," John agrees quietly.
"Randy just came in, so I'll talk to you later," Cody announces.
"Tell him that I said hi. Good night," John replies.
John hangs up his cell phone and he looks at his pile of papers on the table. He doesn't have any energy to read them, so he just puts them away. He finishes his beer before he walks to his room. He gets in his bed and he thinks about how lonely that he feels; it's been 3 years since his last relationship. He clutches his pillow closely to his chest and he tries not to think about Seth as he eventually falls asleep.
A/N: I have this whole story finished, so I will update once a week. I'll probably update on Tuesdays.
Randy and Cody are just one of the other couples in this story, more will be revealed later.
What do you think? I would love to hear all of your thoughts!
A few things coming up next chapter: Dean is briefly introduced, John and Dean meet, and there's a little bit of tension between John and Seth.