DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING. ALL RIGHTS GO TO VINNY MAC AND THE WWE. ALL I OWN IS THE PLOT.

Enjoy Gentle Readers. :D

ROMAN'S POV

CHAPTER 1: LIKE CLOCKWORK

Déjà vu.

That's what I originally thought it was.

Déjà vu. Or maybe just a bad case of sleep deprivation.

The exams where coming up you see, so I hadn't slept much. I tried to – I really did –but the second I closed my eyes, my mind tuned in to anything and everything all at once. And then I wouldn't sleep at all.

This trend has been going on for weeks now, so my worried uncle pulls me aside in the condo he bought for me and says

"Go take a walk son"

And then wishes me off with that trademark smile of his.

But the walk didn't help at all. The world had changed so much in the days I had spent holed up in between the space of school, work and my home that my sleep deprived eyes just couldn't take it all in. The world had suddenly turned exhausting, and forced me to sit on the rim of a circular stone wall , that fenced off a large old clock.

This is precisely when déjà vu happened. I was looking at the bright Florida sky thinking about all the studying I had to do when this little "walk" was over, when suddenly a sweet smell catches my nostrils.

It was definitely perfume, and when I followed the heavy trail, I found myself staring directly at a woman.

Except it wasn't a woman.

It was my classmate, and friend, Seth Rollins.

CHAPTER 2 : CRANIAL MATTERS

Did I say friend?

"Roman."

"Rooooman."

"Roman!"

I slowly lift my head up from the desk to see my friend Dean Ambrose smirking down at me. The blinding sunlight shot into my eyes from a not-so-far-away window. A school that can't afford curtains or blinds. Our economy was seriously bad wasn't it?

"You sleep like a log, you know?" Dean tells me something I already know with his skinny grin lining the edge of his face. "What the hell are you doing hiding in here?"

I gently rub the lingering sleep out of my eyes. "Last night" I mumble incoherently.

"Last night?" Dean parrots with slight intrigue.

That's right. Last night. I didn't get a wink of sleep. But, if I recall, I hadn't studied one page of my textbook. Did I even open the damn thing?

I'm sure I did.

After the clock tower I—

"That's right!" I exclaim – startling Dean – "I saw Seth."

"Seriously man…" Dean sighs heavily as he plants a weary hand on his forehead before pinching the summit of his nose bridge. "Why do you always do that shit?"

"What?" I have no clue what he's talking about.

Dean's eyes look at me with a cringed disgust. I suppose this is his way of showcasing worry. I have to 'suppose' a lot of things when it comes to Dean Ambrose. "You start one sentence, blank out for a minute and then come back shouting about something completely random and off topic."

But I wasn't off topic at all. Last night and seeing Seth connected because after seeing Seth, I couldn't sleep at all last night.

Dean is a smart guy. I'm sure he'll misunderstand this. So I don't say any of those words. I just take a huge eraser to them and replace them with a template.

"I'm sorry."

Humility is my best method of evasion because it always contrasts with my overwhelming size. Being Samoan, I stand out in a huge way. So much so that my true personality gets buried beneath. But when I whip out humility, the contrast startles everyone within earshot to such an extent that they have no choice but to let my transgression go.

Dean's no exception. "Fuck that. Just tell me about last night." Or maybe not. I did say he's a smart guy. "And what's this about seeing Seth?"

"Someone called me?"

Both Dean and I look over to see Seth Rollins walking into the abandoned classroom. Immediately my body stiffens as my brain recalls something important. I did look through my textbook last night. Right after the clock tower, I had head home and looked through my textbook. But the words began jumbling together until they formed the face of Seth Rollins.

Or what I thought was Seth Rollins.

Maybe it never was Seth Rollins.

Maybe it was sleep deprivation.

Not Déjà vu.

Either way, it was definitely a woman.

"Roman!"

I blinked rapidly as my mind returns to the situation. Seth is leaning on another one of the classroom desks. Dean is glaring at me with a barely-there smile.

"Damn it man, what the hell did I just say?"

"I'm sorry." I run my hand through my long hair.

"You space out way too fucking much my man." Seth slips in with a curt smile on his famous baby face. 'It was definitely a woman' plays over in my mind. "And what's this about you seeing me? I bet you didn't even say hi, did you?"

Dean chuckles. Seth follows suit. I feel myself tense again, only to forcibly relax.

"It was definitely a woman." I murmur without thinking ahead.

Both Seth and Dean cease laughing, and instead, stare at me with unmistakable confusion lacing their faces.

"The fuck Roman?" Dean sighed heavily. Seth looks away. "You need to see a doctor about these episodes of yours."

"Or an exorcist." Seth chimes in with a low laugh. "It's creepy my friend."

No matter what I try otherwise, my eyes still focus on Seth's face. They drink his expression in and store it away someplace I can't seem to access. Then they zoom out and take in the causal way Seth's just leaning with his arms planted firmly on the desk, and with his curly, two-toned hair clinging to his neck .

The first time I saw Seth Rollins…no…there was really never a time when he looked so absolutely beautiful.

Until the clock tower.

Instantly, I shook my head – startling Dean and Seth once more. /It was definitely a woman./

CHAPTER 3: THE RAINBOW EFFECT

My uncle is a man. I am a man.

This wasn't about any of that. Even if we were both girls, I still couldn't talk to him about what was on my mind. And what was on my mind was Seth Rollins. Both of them. The best friend of my friend Dean Ambrose. And the woman waiting by the clock tower wearing a pretty summer dress that belted off at a slender waist.

Maybe it would be easier if my uncle and I were both girls.

"Roman." I glance up from my food to see my uncle staring at me a bit worried. We held each others gaze for a while, before he heaved a heavy sigh to break the ice. "You okay son?"

"Yeah." I was okay. If okay was not being able to sleep or even focus for the past week and a half. I am okay. But only if that meant it was normal to stay cooped up in the house in fear of a clock tower a few blocks away.

"You've been cooped up in here again." So…I wasn't okay huh. "I can tell." My uncle smiled his radiant smile. "The place is spotless."

My eyes fall shamefully to the half-eaten steak and end trails of a desecrated mountain of peas and mashed potatoes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He laughs shortly.

It makes me think about Seth laughing at some joke Dean tells us both. And then I think about Seth laughing at some joke Dean tells us both , while wearing light red lipstick. I feel my body tense again for the now countless time.

"I raised you" My uncle resumes, "so I know first hand how you get when you start studying for exams." He scoffs lightly before settling a stern expression on his face. "But Roman, I don't want you to deprive yourself of basic things like sleep. Sleep is important. It relaxes the brain, and the body." His smile returns. "Promise me that you'll get some sleep tonight and go out tomorrow. Hang with your friends…after you're rested." He holds out a coiled fist. "Okay?"

I bump my own fist against his. "Okay."

"Good."

That night, I fell asleep with ease. I dreamed of an ocean that shrank into a river and then into a stream before pouring over a mountain's edge to feed an even bigger ocean below. I had no idea what that all meant until I woke up in the morning with a hard on.

CHAPTER 4: LIKE CLOCKWORK PART 2

I never intended to pass Math. But I did, and the unexpectedness of it all lightened my groggy mood.

Dean wanted to celebrate at a new hangout spot near the torn down movie theater. I would have gone like I promised my uncle, but I decided to pass up the opportunity.

Instead, I headed home.

Only thing…I never made it there.

I tried to. I was on the right path. I had turned on all the right streets. But I never made it to my home. What I ended up doing was turning around, and before I knew it my calm oceanic life suddenly became a river.

Without warning I was shanghaied over strange hills and valleys until finally I had reached a breaking point at a mountain's edge, and spoke to the awaiting ocean below in which Seth lay floating.

"I think I love you."

The clock chimed loudly in the air, telling all who would listen that another hour had passed.

SETH'S POV.

CHAPTER 1: THE BEGINNING OF TIME

The first girlfriend I ever had the prettiest eyes. They were large and glass blue with adornments of eyelid colorings and deep ebony lashes. Her eyes were the first things I fell for. Then , on our first date, she wore a petite summer dress patterned with blissful wisps of flowy sun-kissed yellow.

"That's a pretty dress" Is something I never intended to say to her, but I did, and she looked at me with those large eyes and smiled cheerfully.

"Wanna try it on?"

So it began.

I still have that dress, even though the owner is no longer around. The girl with the prettiest eyes was my first girlfriend. And when I took her dress, she was the last. Girlfriend I mean. I still meet with girls. I love girls. They're so beautiful with their perfectly shaped bodies that fit exactly in everything they wear. Especially pretty petite yellow sundresses.

The yellow sundress from my first and last official girlfriend never accentuated my more robust figure the way it did her hourglass shape. I decided to buy more dresses and found my style to match something that gathered at the chest, belted off at the hilt of the waist and flared off in wispy pleats. The yellow dress I took from my ex-girlfriend was suited for a woman.

Something I soon began to realize that I was not.

A friend of mine – one with benefits – sat me down in her home about a year ago and put my face through the treatment nearly every woman went through and showed me the truth behind my ex's pretty eyes. Her heavy lashes came in a pack of six. Her colorful lids were just a right application og well mixed powder. And her highlighted rims – the very reason her eyes appeared large in the first place – was all thanks to a special ten dollar pencil.

It was all just magic. Smoke and mirrors. Trickery. And it worked. It worked for my ex, and my friend with benefits, and almost all the world's females. And it worked for me.

After nearly two hours of primping and priming, I emerged from my friend's tiny bathroom a different person all together. Neither male nor female. A species all its own. It was frighteningly amazing. The feeling of power that spread through my brain in that moment pales in comparison to anything and everything else. I felt reborn as something not bound by physical or social limitations. I was suddenly invincible. A god in this new found world of mine.

I had sex that night still wearing make up.

The new me took some getting used to, but eventually I could look my transformation in the eye as I applied my own products using borrowed techniques. In less than sixty minutes, I could turn from Seth Rollins bonafide male into this person named Seth Rollins. It was pure ecstasy. And most women welcomed the new me. Nearly all slept with me while I wore the clothes they once paraded in.

In no time at all, my powerful self evolved past my homestead domain, and took off into the world beyond the walls of my home. I awoke to find myself standing in the middle of the street lost and excited and afraid all at once. I clung to my Michael Kors purse and fiddled idly with the base of my new garment. My red hair tangled slightly with the gold necklace hanging from my neck, and I gave it a moment of my attention.

That's when my gaze met his.

CHAPTER 2: INSTINCTS

His name is Roman Reigns.

Dean Ambrose is my best friend. We've known each other since the cradle. I understand many of Dean's quirks – even the seemingly selfish ones –but his friendship with Roman Reigns was something truly inexplicable.

Roman is quiet, which is a downside for him because of his massive size, as it makes him an easy target for bullies and sore treatment from friends who want a good laugh. He's also humble – unexpectedly at that – but majorly he's just quiet. But for all his humility, size, and quietness, the big man can still vanish in an empty room. Sometimes he will just be sitting over in a corner sleeping like a dead log and it's still a surprise to the people in the room that he was even there to begin with.

Dean is the total opposite. Dean is always loud. Always seen. Always noticed. I'm like that too in some ways, but I come with an off switch.

Thinking about it now, I guess it's only natural that Roman is Dean's new friend. The big guy was everything opposite to Dean and opposites attract.

So, "I think I love you", should never have been said in the first place. Especially not from Roman to me.

To begin with, we're both Dean's friends. And this unholy union would surely kill him. On top of that, we're both men. And men just don't fall in love with other men. Lastly, neither Roman nor I are gay. I like girls. He likes girls. We share that commonality.

So what the hell did he mean by "I think I love you?"

I relayed this to Roman three days ago at that clock tower, but he still continues to stare intensely at me like some kind of wild animal eying a slab of juicy meat. It doesn't matter how much I ignore him. He still stares, and it irks me in all the wrong ways.

Naturally, because Roman's so quiet, I noticed his gaze with ease. It stood out like black ink on white paper, but affected me only now – after he looked me right in the eyes and said

"I think I love you"

In broad daylight.

"Can we talk?" I look over my shoulder to see Roman just standing there like a brick wall, with that same overly-intense gaze deadlocked into his dark eyes.

"Sure." I state bluntly. Dean and the rest of our friends all look at Roman.

Despite having the uncomfortable situation flung at him, Roman doesn't even pretend to look away. He just stares at me. Only me. "We can't talk here."

I let out a long sigh, "I don't wanna talk then." Is my cowardly response. I follow up with an equally cowardly withdraw of my own gaze to face my back to him.

Dean looks curiously at me and then at Roman. His blue eyes draw back lazily to me. "He's still standing there Seth."

"I know." I mumble agitatedly. Dean never needed to point it out. I could feel Roman's overbearing presence cling to me like ghostly shackles.

"Why don't you just talk to him?" Dean inquires with all his human rights. "You guys haven't spoken to each other for three days now."

I stare angrily at the ground beneath my feet. The sound of the clock tower striking the hour came back to my mind. It made me think twice about what I heard. Maybe there was no I think I love you. Maybe it was all just in my own head.

But…if the latter was the case…then what the hell was Roman Reigns saying I think I love you to me doing in my head in the first place?

Instantly I shot to my feet and headed out the door. When I glanced back, all of Roman's near three hundred pound frame was trailing silently behind.

CHAPTER 3: SUGAR CUBES

The last girl I slept with, midway I lost the mood.

Bright red lipstick never really suited me. But I love the color red. For a while I never quite figured out this dilemma, until I read an issue of Cosmopolitan and learned the art of lip gloss. By applying a clear lip gloss I could easily down the brightness of the red lipstick without completely eradicating the red color I love so much.

The day I found that secret was the day I began wearing a trademark red on my lips.

My favorite sapphire dress, how I hate to do this to you, but I have to. I took him up on his strange and creepy offer. A date dressed as whichever Seth Rollins I wanted to be. I chose the new me and told myself how much I'd scare him with the sight.

Plus, it didn't hurt that I had a new outfit that I want to wear.

Back at school, the moment I located a secluded enclosure, I let Roman have it. I snarled viciously at him and reiterated all the reasons why his sudden love for me was downright wrong and borderline disgusting. Problem was I never really believed all that I was saying. Especially the part about it being disgusting. Even after he had kissed me, disgust was an absent feeling. I didn't find the situation to be that way at all, and so I frantically began to search for a reason why, and found it staring back at me on that distant night.

The night I slept with the last girl.

I wasn't wearing anything feminine. I have had my days where doing so feels a lot like manhood suicide, so I gave it up for a few days and along came another girl. She was beautiful like they all were, with a great sense of style. I especially loved her low heels, and had to force myself from making a conversation out of them. We talked for a couple hours and soon ended up in a situation I was all too familiar with. Problem is, we were having sex at her place ,and her room had a large mirror staring back at us.

The mirror forced me to watch myself plow into her, and soon I suddenly felt a strange tension overcome me. The longer I stared the harder the activity got. Soon, I looked away to stare at the girl. She had her eyes closed but her mouth remained open. In all she was sexy, and it pushed me past the weird feeling only for it to return again when my gaze caught the mirror once more. I turned away with a heavy feeling riding my shoulders, but looked back sheepishly at the man in the mirror.

It was then I realized how much I wanted to be pushed down by a man.

The mood died shortly after with neither of us reaching our limits.

The last girl I slept with had created something within the new me that I wanted so badly to outrun. But Roman. Roman and his gaze. Roman and his quietness. Roman and his differences. He was a space case big guy who had good grades and a rich uncle. How did he fall from grace to the point of falling in love with the new me and Seth Rollins all at once? It's baffling. Even more so than how hideous these pair of low heels makes my ankles look.

But they are the only color that matched my dress, and payday was a week from now, so a new pair would have to wait. With one final check, I head out the door to meet with a woefully casually dressed Roman Reigns.

"Disgusting right." I state callously – fully intending to put him off.

He smiles timidly, "You look gorgeous."

A light air passes over my face, heating the skin as it went. Suddenly, this causal dressed awkward man looked a lot cooler. "Whatever." I dismissed harshly, as I trotted on in front of him, only to stop after a few steps. "Come on." I mumbled – stretching out my hand behind me, as my gaze glanced to him.

His shy smile grew bolder in an instant as he took my outstretched hand in his much larger one.

I looked away instantly for fear that he could see my rapidly beating heart, and walked ahead – stringing along a new found life.