A/N: Okay, so I'm trying to bang out updates a lot faster but apparently fate has decided for me to get writer's block. I hope you guys enjoy this one.
The transition is surprisingly an easy one for Seth Rollins as he finishes decorating his side of the room with a little smile on his face. It's a nice change of scenery for him as opposed to the apartment that him and Dean share. Dean, however, wears a scowl on his face when he sees just how little space he's about to get for the next few months.
Lying back on his bed, with his arms propped up underneath his head, he blows a frustrated sigh out of his mouth. "Why are we relegated to living here? There are many college students who live off campus. Why can't we be two of those students?"
It's obvious that this isn't where he wants to be. Granted, he's more than thrilled that there's a ton of women on this God forsaken campus that he can hook up with, he's peeved that he can't get any time for himself. How is he supposed to seduce some poor college chick if Seth's there doing God knows what?
"Because we have to stay on campus to get some clues on what happened to Wade. We can't do that from our apartment."
"He was murdered. I don't get why Levesque is so serious about this. And I don't get why he can't bring in Paige and Summer for some questioning and decide right then and there if they're guilty. I feel like he sent us on this bogus assignment because it's suited for us. That whole entire place thinks we're jokes so they give us this babysitting gig."
"This is a big deal for us. If we crack this case, we're on to bigger and better things. Stop being so negative." Seth takes his focus off of hanging some poster of his favorite band long enough to glare down his friend.
"You are so annoying when you're an optimist. You should invest in being a realist like myself." Dean smirks at his comment. While most people call him a cynic, he sees it as calling it as he sees it. Being a realist doesn't make him a negative person one bit. Or least that's how he sees it.
A knock at the door has both guys coming out of their own personal reveries, both questioning who the hell could be paying them a visit? Had it been Roman, he would have just barged in. Deciding to stop feeling sorry for himself, Dean quickly rises to his feet and walks the little path there is to the door to open it. He's taken by surprise when the Bella Twins stand there with sexy smirks plastered on their faces.
Stifling an eye roll, he widens the door to allow them entry, cursing himself on the inside. These two are definitely trouble and Dean knows that. He's in no mood to be flirted with, especially by two girls who have probably made their way through half the guys on campus.
"So Brie and I wanted to come by and officially welcome you two by inviting you to a party we're throwing tonight," Nikki starts, placing her hands with her perfectly manicured fingers on her hips, tilting her head a bit to the side.
"Everyone who is anyone will be there," Brie's monotone voice echoes around the room. "We don't want you boys getting off on the wrong foot now." She seductively trails a finger down Dean's chest, not taking into account the annoyed expression on his face.
"Thanks, ladies," Seth intervenes, trying to keep Dean from blowing a gasket. "We'll see if we can squeeze in an appearance. We're busy unpacking and settling in. You understand, don't you?"
"Sure, we do. Or you guys can just skip the party and come by our dorm room a little later." Brie once again starts her attack on Dean, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I think you and I can be really hot once we get to be alone."
A devious smirk comes to Dean as he lowers his head and brushes his lips against Brie's. "If you want hot," he starts out, teasing her a bit. When she moans by his touch, Dean finishes, "Go lock yourself in a tanning bed." Then he gently moves her back to where she's no longer touching him.
A whimper escapes her lips before she folds her arms across her ample chest and brushes off the rejection like it never happened. "We hope to see the two of you there. Don't make us come back here and hunt you down."
"We definitely wouldn't want that," the sarcasm oozes through Dean like it's completely effortless. Apparently it doesn't register with either one of the twins when they go to give each of the guys a kiss goodbye on the cheek, handing them the address to where their bash will be.
Once they're gone, Seth turns his attention to the guy shaking his head at the door. "Would it kill you to be a little nice? They just wanted to invite us to a party. What's the big deal?"
"No, they wanted to come by and invite us over for a little round of suck and blow. What is wrong with you, man? You are losing sight of the reason to why we're here in the first place. We're not supposed to be fraternizing with the Bellas. Paige and Summer are the targets, remember?"
"Of course I remember," Seth smiles at the memory of the raven-haired woman. The way she opened up to him. The way she got angry with him for invading her personal space. The way she bit at her nails during their conversation. There isn't a thing about Paige Knight that he can forget about. It's weird how similar she is to him. It's even weirder how he confided in her about his parents. No one but Dean knows that story.
Why did he feel the need to divulge that kind of information to someone he didn't know? Seth has no idea but he's not about to shut off this connection simply because of his line of work. He knows that eventually he'll have to explain why he's being so nosy, but he figures he can cross that bridge when he gets there.
"Oh, someone has a little crush, huh?" Dean teases. "I haven't seen you this love-struck since what's-her-name." He raises a suspicious eyebrow at the two-tone haired guy. "Listen, man, these girls are hot but we cannot—I repeat cannot—get blindsided by them. You've been saying how much we have to prove ourselves. If we fuck this up then what are we proving?"
"I thought you didn't care about this job?" Seth's sentence comes out more like a question. He can't help it though – this whole assignment had made Dean even grumpier than before. Now he suddenly cares. Seth simply laughs at that. Dean's never had a care in world and all of a sudden his demeanor changes.
Instead of replying, Dean casually slides on his leather jacket, grabs his keys and opts to go for a walk. He needs to explore this place and clear his mind. He can't do that being held in captivity – being cramped up in a tiny room with all of his things isn't exactly his cup of tea. When he's out on the grounds, he sees an empty bench and decides to sit and take everything in.
It's hard to see the good things in life when it seems like the universe is out to get him; he's at a job where no one appreciates him. His family thinks he's a joke. And he's never been in a committed relationship. And while the latter isn't exactly something he's ready to jump into, he likes to know there's the possibility of finding someone down the road.
Resting his face in his hands, Dean lets out a frustrated sigh – he's only been here for a couple of days but he can tell that before this little assignment is over, his mind is going to be gone. Between all the classes he's being forced to take and Brie and Nikki trying to slobber all over him, Dean's uncertain if he's going to be able to last.
Hearing heels clicking on the sidewalk in front of him, he lets out a grunt. "Okay, Brie, now I have to get tough with you. I don't like—" He glances up to find the curious face of Summer Rae and suddenly all is forgotten. "You're not Brie."
"That's an astute observation." She crosses her arms. She's seen him before when Brie and Nikki were coming on to him and his friend. And she liked what she saw, him rejecting them. Now here he is again, right in front of her, spewing off some random thing about not liking Brie. It makes her all the more curious.
Unsure of what to say to the blonde before him, Dean motions for her to take a seat beside him. "Do they always come on so strong like that? I mean, they just swung by mine and my roommate's room to invite us to some party tonight and Brie was all over me."
"You got off easy. It's Nikki you need to look out for. Backstabbing tramp." The last part is mumbled under hushed tones, but Dean hears it and laughs a bit. "Don't ask," she holds up a hand. "I'm Summer Rae, by the way."
"Dean Ambrose. I'm a bit of a loose cannon and my mouth has no filter. I pretty much say what's on my mind."
"So why can't you tell the Bella Twins to back the hell off if you're so honest?"
"My roommate thinks I'm too mean. He says I'm a cynic," he sighs.
"Oh, so you're one of those people," the blonde woman diverts her attention to her feet. She doesn't like this feeling overcoming her and she definitely doesn't like the questioning glare coming from the person on her left. There's something about Dean that she likes but she's not sure what it is. Maybe it's the fact that he too can't stand the twins.
He's not remotely put off by her choice of words, seeing as he's in no position to judge – with a smirk on his face, Dean shakes his head at her. "You're the first person I've met that doesn't get on my nerves. That, Summer Rae, is a damn miracle."
They both stay seated, laughing with each other about nothing in particular – they like the company that each other brings. It's the first time in a long time that Dean is having a good time. And it's the first time that Summer feels confident in her people skills as she talks to him. It's a feeling to revel in, they both are aware of this.
To a random bystander, Dean and Summer would look like the perfect couple, looking at each other like it's the first time. That's how comfortable they are. This is something that Dean could get used to, feeling like he's a human being instead of some kind of plague. Summer makes him feel good. And it's welcoming for a change.
Paige saunters down the hallway, finding herself outside of Wade's old dorm room – it's a habit that she knows she has to break; she can't help but miss him despite the fact that he was a terrible person. Regardless, she had loved him once upon a time and even though he couldn't change, those feelings never went away.
She wonders who has gotten his room – she wonders if they're a good person; she wonders if it's someone she'll cross paths with. The images of Wade's dead corpse comes back to haunt her so she leans up against the wall, trying to will herself to get her shit together. She's done a good job so far of not putting any more attention on herself by acting unnatural.
She regrets making the suggestion of hiding Wade's body – while she did it only to protect Alicia and Summer, she can't help but question if it was the right decision. There is no way she can go back and change what's in the past.
A tear falls from her eye; it sucks not being able to talk to anyone about how she's feeling. Even though she has Summer and Alicia, they have the tendency to brush it off. Their friendship doesn't feel as close as it once was since they're all keeping a distance from one another.
Summer's been off, planning her revenge on Nikki Bella for sleeping with Dolph; and Alicia's been hibernating in her room, hardly making any contact with the outside world. All Paige has is herself and that gets lonely from time to time.
When she hears the door open that she's standing beside, she's shocked to see Seth Rollins exiting. He gives her a curious glance. "Are you lost, Paige?"
"You got Wade's old room? Well my curiosity is officially killed." She slides down the wall and brings her knees up to her chest. "When is this feeling going to go away?"
Sitting himself down right beside her, the Iowa native is unsure of what to do now. Does he drape an arm over her and tell her everything is going to be okay? Does he give her a pat on the back and listen as she cries to him? Instead of doing anything remotely comforting, he simply lets out a sigh. "The minute you get closure. Answer me this, would you? Are you hurting because he's gone or are you hurting because you two couldn't fix what was broken?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Paige looks blankly at the wall ahead of her. "I don't know. Why didn't he love me enough to change? I mean, he hit me and beat me and raped me and I stayed because I loved him and I thought I owed it to him."
"Whoa!" Seth puts a hand up. "You're telling me that he did all those awful things to you and you didn't kick him to the curb? Be glad we weren't friends while he was alive because I definitely would have killed him myself."
He might barely know Paige, but there's a protective vibe going on when it comes to her that he can't quite put his finger on. Hearing all the abuse she took makes him even more in awe of her. It makes him wonder if maybe Wade's murder was self-defense. Granted, hiding the body is already going to get her into a lot trouble, but maybe there's a way to help get her and Summer off.
"So we're friends now?" Paige nudges him in a playful manner. "Thank you, Seth. It feels nice being able to rant to someone about this without feeling like I'm being judged. I have my two best friends but… we've kind of gone our own way. I guess they can't deal with me."
Because we were all part of Wade's murder and we don't know how to cope with it, Paige thinks. There's no way to explain it without saying something incriminating so without thinking about it even more, the raven-haired beauty turns to Seth, whose face is now inches from hers, and leans in to press her lips against his.
Taken by surprise, Seth starts to pull away when Paige moves her hand up behind his head and starts running her fingers through his long hair. This is not what he had in mind when he agreed to go undercover. He realizes that this is his first mistake. Yes, he has to get close to Paige, but he cannot get involved with her in any way, shape or form.
Only now he can't seem to pull away from her when she goes in for the kill and slides her tongue into his mouth – what the hell is she doing to him? He just barely met her and now they're making out? Getting the feeling back into his hands from where they've roamed all over her body, Seth slowly pulls away. "Whoa. Easy there, girl. I'm still just a man, please refrain from sucking my lips off."
"I'm sorry, Seth. I have no idea where that came from. It's just… I haven't felt this type of connection with someone in a while. I got caught in the moment. I'm embarrassed." Biting on her bottom lip, Paige rises to her feet and then motions to help Seth to his.
When their hands touch, Paige is quick to pull away and tuck some of her hair behind her ears. Things are now awkward and she isn't sure what to do next. "You were on your way out before. Where were you off to?"
"To a party I got invited to."
She rolls her eyes. "You mean the party that Nikki and Brie Bella are throwing?"
"I take it you got invited?"
"I did get invited and so did my best friend. But since Nikki and her aren't on speaking terms, I'm forced to take sides. Nikki slept with her boyfriend."
"Well then I guess it's a good thing I found you instead. How about we go and get something to eat? We can get to know one another since we're friends and most recently make-out buddies. I figure I should know about the girl who just attacked me with her lips."
Agreeing, Paige lets him lead the way, unable to take her eyes away from his ass – she knows it looks good in those fitting jeans of his. She's unable to get their kiss out of her head; it's officially on rewind in her head. Maybe getting over Wade is a lot easier than she thinks. Or maybe she's just getting in over her head.
She has no idea what's in store for her when it comes to Seth's motives. And Seth has no idea what's in store for him when it comes to Paige's secret. Grabbing on to his hand, Paige gives off the first genuine smile since her involvement in Wade's murder. Maybe this is her second chance. Maybe this is the universe's way of forgiving her. Or maybe she's just fooling herself.