Seth frowned and cursed under his breath. Sometimes being right sucks, he thought to himself as he plopped down on the stool next to Roman.
"Go away Rollins," Reigns said, his eyes locked straight ahead.
"Rome, you know you're not supposed to be here," Seth said quietly.
"What do you care?" Reigns sneered.
"Hey," Seth said, raising his hands in surrender, "I'm just trying to look out for you."
"Well don't waste your time," Roman said, scowling.
"What's gotten into you?" Seth asked. He already knew, but he wanted Roman's side of the story.
"Nothing."
"Yeah, it sure seems like nothing," Seth said under his breath.
"Hey, you don't like it, leave. You weren't invited anyhow."
Seth was taken aback by the comment, but he masked his surprise at the outburst, choosing instead to cut Roman a little slack. Changing tactics, Seth asked, "Why don't we go back to the room and watch a movie? Or maybe we could grab some dinner–I saw a nice restaurant on the corner?"
"Nope, I'm good here," Roman replied, hugging his drink closer to him in the dim hotel bar.
Seth eyed the glass with disgust. "Roman, you promised you wouldn't come to these places anymore," Seth tried again.
"Yeah well, I guess I'm liar, just like everyone else."
"What are you talking about?"
"You, Dean, everyone, you're all liars," Roman said, his deep voice carrying through the bar far better than he'd intended.
Seth waved off the bartender as he turned his attention back to his best friend, "I've never lied to you Rome," Seth replied quietly, allowing the hurt to punctuate his words.
"Yeah? Well Dean sure has."
"What are you talking about?" Seth repeated.
Roman finally broke and told Seth about coming back to the locker room to change, and waiting for Ziggler to leave so that he and Dean could have the locker room to themselves for once. He also shared how he'd overheard Dean's opinion of their relationship: "Just friends and nothing else," Roman said.
"You know he didn't mean that, right?" Seth asked earnestly.
"Then why did he say it?"
"Come on Rome, you're smarter than that. You know why."
Roman hung his head in defeat, his anger suddenly evaporating into the same hopelessness that Seth had seen in Dean. "I hate this Seth. I hate having to hide everything all the time."
"I know you do man, but to protect each other, you have to."
"I know, but you didn't hear the way he said it Seth. I think he really meant it."
"Trust me man, he didn't. I bet if we go back up to the room, he'll be there ready to beg for your forgiveness. That is, if you'll give him the chance to?"
Roman nodded, agreeing to give Dean one last chance, as he stared down at his drink, swirling the straw. The motion made Seth uneasy. He wanted nothing more than to snatch the drink away, but depending on how many Roman had had before Seth had gotten there, a move like that could result in Roman knocking Seth right off his stool if he wasn't careful. Looking up, Roman followed Seth's gaze to his drink and gave his friend a faint smile. "It's just diet coke," Roman said. Seth looked skeptical. It wasn't the first time he'd heard that.
Before he'd joined with his two best friends to form The Shield, Roman had been a typical Indy wrestler bar rat. They'd go to the ring, have their matches, then Roman would always come straight back to the hotel, shower, then spend the remainder of the night closing out the local bars.
Seth and Dean weren't above a few drinks themselves, but when they got drunk, if they got drunk, Seth enjoyed leaning on his brothers while singing annoying songs at the top of his voice, and Dean just sat quietly and brooded. All in all, aside from annoying their best friends, their drunken behavior was essentially harmless. However, when Roman got drunk, he was only a small nudge away from an eruption at all times. Dean and Seth figured that's just what happened when someone like Roman kept so much explosive energy under wraps all the time; it was bound to come out eventually, and alcohol merely facilitated it. In fact, more than once, the two best friends had been on the receiving end of Roman's drunken rage, and they had the scars to prove it.
All of this came to an end however, once they had become a unit. Dean and Seth finally sat Roman down and had a heart to heart with him. It wasn't an easy debate, nor was it without it's bargaining–Dean had to agree to give up smoking–but eventually they won a promise of sobriety from their friend. A promise that Roman had kept for years...until now.
Sighing at Seth's obvious discomfort, Roman took out his wallet, left a twenty on the bar and headed out. "Coming?" Reigns asked over his shoulder.
Seth rose and followed Reigns, keeping a healthy distance from his friend. "Hey, I'll be right back, just head up without me," Seth said suddenly. Roman simply nodded, only stopping once he got the elevators to wait for Seth. He knew what his friend was up to.
Heading back to the bar, Seth looked around quickly before he picked up Roman's drink and took a sip. Huh, it really is diet coke, Seth thought in relief.
I always like Roman with a bit of a darker side, so here's my attempt at that.
Well, now that Seth has gotten Roman a bit calmer and more open to hearing Dean out, it's time for the Lunatic Fringe, and his gift, to work his magic...if he can...The next and final chapter is coming up, and we all get find out what Dean has up his sleeve, and more importantly, if it's going to work. Stay tuned!
P.S. Thank you for all of the amazing and encouraging reviews, you guys are awesome :)